Chapter 43 #2
“When I first woke, I thought I’d just met with an investor, but that was the day before.
I was with my team celebrating before I went to the airport.
” He recalls vague images of their faces smiling ear to ear, congratulating him on the payoff of his bold plan.
“I just closed a deal with one of the Broch children, Evan, I think. We had very similar ambitions. He and his brothers owned a full city block in Brooklyn. Another on the Upper East Side. Another in Chelsea. I pitched the demo of the entire block and the planned development of mini communities. My team even suggested repurposing some of the salvaged building materials, so it would have an authentic feel. Sadly, a few beloved community establishments had to go.” Kate clears her throat, interrupting him, so he adds, “Which I would now be more considerate about demolishing?”
Kate giggles. “Good enough.”
He continues. “Evan came ready to sign, and I think I was practically drooling when the blue ink met the paper. That day was the happiest of my life—until now.”
How he was before makes him cringe. It’s only been a few months, but he feels so removed from that version of himself. The future has changed him. Kate has changed him. And he is better for it.
“That’s sweet,” Kate says, yawning, and he wonders if she understands the significance.
“It was the biggest moment of my career, and I’d trade all of it again for the life we’ll build together,” he says, but at this point her even breathing suggests she’s fallen asleep again. He chuckles, drawing her close.
His purpose has inextricably shifted. He has his relationship with Kate, friends—real friends. Not the NHOS issued Project: LEN FRIENDS garbage Kate told him about. And he has a business that provides services that actually help people—save lives, even. He didn’t know life could be like this.
When he wakes next, Kate isn’t beside him.
“Kate?” he calls, hoping she hasn’t gone far. The bathroom light illuminates the room with a soft yellow glow.
She pops her head out, and his heart seizes.
“Hi,” she says.
“Hi,” he replies.
“So, you’d trade it all, then?” she asks, giving him a heart-melting smile.
“All of it,” he says, sitting up, taking her in as she steps into the bedroom. She heard his late-night confession after all. His heart is in his throat as she makes her way to him.
Her auburn hair tumbles in uncharacteristic flowing waves down her bare shoulders. Her makeup is minimal, which only makes her look hotter. The white cotton panties and the impossibly soft-looking camisole show only an inch of stomach, and her feet are bare. “Holy fuck.”
“Do you like it?” she asks.
“Fuck yes, I like it, Kate. You are my waking fantasy.”
She gives him a bashful grin, and he can’t help but wonder how she doesn’t know how insanely gorgeous she is.
How sweet and smart and perfect. How she doesn’t need all the elaborate and ornate clothing of this time to enhance what he sees.
He’s so glad she hasn’t picked out any of that. What she’s wearing suits her perfectly.
“I did a little research about lingerie from your time, and I thought you might like this.”
Sweet fucking Kate. He is rock hard, and they aren’t even touching. Like she knows she’s utterly paralyzed him, she walks forward. He crawls to the edge of the bed, kneeling as she comes to stand before him.
“James?” she asks, hesitating.
“What’s the date?” he asks.
She grins. “December 25th.”
“Did you know that during my time, today would have been Christmas?” he asks, just now placing them on the calendar.
“I may have read that,” she says, coyly.
“Kate, this is the best Christmas gift I’ve ever received,” he says, letting his gaze drift over her. “Thank you.”
“I’m glad you like it.” A delicious flush crawls up her neck, and he can’t wait to follow it with his lips. But the way she’s staring at him is so unguarded. Appreciative and affectionate. Admiring even, like he’d be her choice regardless of her options. It makes him feel—
“I love you!” he blurts, and his eyes dart between hers for a perilous moment. He accidentally let it slip yesterday, and she was so angry she didn’t seem to notice. He prays he hasn’t misjudged. She has to feel the same. She has to.
He isn’t sure he can take another breath without dying. Are the windows broken? The air is getting in.
“James,” she says, and her voice is like a breath.
It soothes him. Coaxes his heart into a steady, confident rhythm.
Finally—finally he’s getting used to the overwhelming new emotions the future is causing him to have.
He thinks maybe he can live this way, especially because Kate makes it so easy. Even if she never says it back.
His hands hook around her thighs and glide up her smooth skin until they slide beneath the fabric of the panties, so he’s cupping her ass. He leans his head into her chest, holding her to him. Kissing her soft skin.
“I didn’t know women like you were real, Kate. That it could be like this.” He sucks in a breath. “I thought I was in hell, in purgatory in this new time. But now I know better.”
His words are coming out incredibly cliché.
He refuses to give her anything less than what she deserves.
He prays to God he doesn’t scare her with what he says next.
But he’s confident she feels the same. This time he knows it’s not an impulse or a slip.
Perhaps this is the first time he’s ever been real.
“What I mean to say is, I believe I’ve been brought back to this time to love you, Kate. I love you.”
Then he tilts his head back, and he braves a look at her. Her chest heaves as she sucks in a breath. “Really?” she asks. “You mean it?”
James barks out a laugh. “Of course I mean it. I’d move mountains to prove it to you.”
She giggles, grinning down at him. “No need. You’ve already made the impossible happen.”
“What’s that?” he asks.
Kate looks away, grinning. When her sparkling eyes finally flick back to meet his, there is such vulnerability within them; it cleaves into him, finding a permanent home in his heart. Say it back, he mentally demands. But instead of speaking, he gives her time to build up the nerve.
She stares at him as if he’s brand new, shaking her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe this is real.” Her fingertips reverently brush across his forehead, then his crooked nose and cheek, then his lips. Finally, she says, “I love you too, James.”
As he stands, he scoops her up, and her legs wrap around his waist. “You deserve everything, sweetheart. A lover, a friend, a confidant, a co-parent.” He squeezes her ass at the last one and she jumps, eyes going wide. “Let me give it to you, Kate. All of it. Real, like me, and all for you.”