Chapter 40 - Lily
LILY
I started playing darts younger than any kid should, but luckily, it had served me well, especially tonight. I didn’t think there was a way Gabe could catch up, but I didn’t want to get too confident.
“So,” I said as I turned toward him, “if I win, will you admit you were jealous?” I smiled sweetly and batted my lashes at him.
Gabe rolled his eyes. “You mean when you win?”
I took my turn and stepped out of the way. “I suppose that would be more accurate.”
He shook his head with a laugh and threw his first dart, hitting a triple twenty, which shaved off quite a bit of his score. “What about if I win? What do I get then?”
“What do you want?”
“A kiss from you. At midnight.”
My heart skipped, because all night I’d been thinking about kissing Gabe. Wanting to find any excuse to kiss him—or to give him an excuse to kiss me. Now, I wanted him to win. His prize seemed way better than mine.
“That would work, especially since you had a good turn.” He could likely win on his next one.
Since we were playing 301, I needed to hit exactly the number I had left or less, but I couldn’t go over. I needed to hit the seventeen, but if I veered left, and just so happened to hit the nineteen…
“Shoot. I busted.”
Gabe blinked, looking between me and the board. “Hmm,” he hummed, amused, taking his turn and hitting exactly thirty-four between his three darts.
“Oh, bummer. Guess you win after all,” I said with a grin, and he narrowed his eyes at me.
“Don’t think I didn’t know what you were doing. You want to kiss me that badly, huh?”
I bit down on my bottom lip, sucking in a breath. My eyes met his, and a shiver ran up my spine at how his gaze darkened and focused on my lips. “Maybe I do. Is that okay?”
“More than okay,” he murmured. “Because I want to kiss you that badly, too. More, even. You have consumed my mind, Lily Richards.”
“And you’ve consumed mine,” I admitted, looking up at him.
He took a step toward me, closing the distance. He took the darts from my hand, setting them on the cocktail table near us and leading us toward the corner of the bar.
My bare back hit the cool, wooden wall. Gabe leaned in, and I smelled the whiskey and mint on his breath. Our mouths were painfully close, and my body ached for there to be nothing between us.
No man had ever made me feel this way. I wanted to tell Gabe that he had nothing to be jealous of with Reid, or any man for that matter. No one compared to him.
And what was that look in his eyes right now? Did he want this as much as I did?
“Earlier you said I’m the first person you look for when you enter a room,” Gabe said. “It’s impossible for me to keep my eyes off of you. Do you know why I sit at the same table at the café every day? Why that’s my favorite spot?”
My brows furrowed, and I shook my head. I figured it was because the spot was a little more tucked away and allowed him to focus when he was working.
“Because regardless of where you are—behind the counter, in the kitchen, or the cat room—I get to see you in your element. You’re a force to be reckoned with, Lily, and the fact that I even get to be in your presence is a gift.”
“Gabe,” I said softly. I had no clue how to respond, because my brain short-circuited.
That was quite possibly the most beautiful thing anyone had ever said to me.
Gabe’s compliments always stirred something in my heart, but him appreciating how I looked when I was doing something I was passionate about meant more to me than I could say.
He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his touch lingering as he grazed my cheek with his thumb. Slowly, he moved his hand to the back of my neck, and the anticipation was killing me. I could barely hear the countdown to midnight, because all of my focus was on him.
Gabe’s mouth tipped up in a breathtaking smile, as if he sensed my impatience. Right as the clock struck midnight, he pulled me closer and captured my lips in a searing kiss. The lights dimmed, and a chorus of cheers and confetti erupted around us.
Every part of my body melted into Gabe, and his tight grip on my waist pulled me against his body, away from the wall. Had it not been for his support, I was convinced my legs would’ve given out.
I didn’t think I would ever get used to being kissed by Gabe. He put his whole body into it, his whole heart. Gabe kissed me like his life depended on it.
And I figured he always kissed this way. But in this moment…I wanted to believe he had only ever kissed me like this.
His mouth was hot on mine, searing my lips and claiming me. My hands found his arms, then his shoulders, as I clung to him like everything depended on it. On him.
Gabe pulled away, but only to press kisses to my cheek, jaw, and neck, his fingers digging into my lower back. I’d have to wear this shirt again if only to feel his touch.
I leaned my head against the back wall, my lips parting. This kiss felt different than the others. More raw. “So, this…this thing between us is—it’s real for you?” I panted. “Because after the Christmas festival, I asked you to show me what you would do if I was yours.”
“And what did I tell you?” he gritted against my skin. I almost didn’t hear him over my pulse thrumming in my ears.
“You…you said you would do everything in your power to make me feel good and beautiful. That you would learn my body like the back of your hand.”
“And?” Gabe asked, dipping his head and sucking at my skin at the exact spot that drove me wild.
I sucked in a breath, my grip on him tightening as I struggled to keep quiet. Between the way my body reacted to him and the way his erection pressed against me, it was hard to focus.
“I asked you a question, Sunshine.” His voice was rougher this time, more demanding. And I couldn’t get enough of it.
“And I would say you know my body pretty well,” I managed to get out.
“Look at you being a good girl and using your words,” he praised, and my whole body lit up.
Gabe leaned back, his expression growing more serious.
His fingers gently grasped my chin, tilting my head up so our gazes locked.
“Lily, this is real. Every second of us has been real. You make me feel alive in a way I didn’t think was possible.
I have never felt this way about someone—and I never will.
No one compares to you and the magic you bring to every room you walk into. ”
My chest tightened, and I let out a shaky exhale. The words were everything I’d longed to hear but didn’t think I’d ever get. But here was Gabe showing me his heart.
“It’s real for you,” I said quietly, more to myself than to him. A fragile truth I hadn’t dared to say out loud. His hand moved from my chin to cradle my cheek, thumb brushing gently across my skin.
“It’s real for me,” he said, steady and sure. “All of it. I’ve been chasing something for so long—trying to build a life that made sense on paper. But none of it meant anything until you. I don’t want anything if you’re not in it.”
He paused, eyes searching mine. “I want all your midnights, Lily. Not just tonight. Not just Christmas Eve. I want them all.”
And there it was. The dam inside me broke.
Tears welled, not from sadness, but from the weight of being seen, chosen, and wanted.
“I want all your midnights, too, Gabe,” I said without an ounce of hesitation. I looked over his shoulder, noticing that everyone was wrapped up in their own celebrations. “What do you say we get out of here?”
“I’d say that’s one of your best ideas yet.”
Me
Happy New Year!!! Gabe and I are going to head out for the night.
Eliza
Figured that was the case with you two making out in the corner. :)
Jules
Been there, done that lol.
Is Lake Ridge two for two for couples falling in love?
Eliza
Huh, yeah, I guess it is.
Me
Okay, extreme. It was one kiss!
But he did say some swoony things…I’ll fill you both in later.
Wait, does that mean Eliza’s next?!
Jules
Oooh I think it does!!!
Eliza
I’m turning my phone off now. Talk to you in the new year.
Me
It’s already the new year!
Eliza
The next one.