Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
“Hey, did I hurt you?”
She chuckled and looked toward me. “No … well maybe you bruised my heart,” she murmured back.
Hearing her confession tightened my chest because I knew what she meant.
In the moments following that euphoric feeling of sharing our intimate climax, I felt a sense of longing for her that I hadn’t experienced with anyone else.
It had felt like the ending of something that had been so significant in my life …
and I figured that sensation related to that closure about us that Jolie had mentioned before.
“Listen …” I began.
She pressed a finger to my lips to silence me.
“I’m fine. I knew what this was when I invited you up here,” she insisted. The resignation in her sad expression didn’t match her upbeat tone.
“No, I meant it Jolie. The moment I saw you again, I realized what I’d been holding out for.
It was this … the connection I’ve only ever had with you.
It’s weird, maybe fate … fuck, I can’t explain what it was …
or is, all I know is something made me buy that little cabin up there on the mountain when I had the whole of the north to choose from.
And the moment I drove through town once we’d gotten here, this diner had burned its image in my mind. ”
Jolie perched up on her elbow, her face instantly full of hope. “Did you just get all New Age on me? Like fate had drawn you to me?”
I chuckled. “Maybe,” I admitted, laughing. “I bet beneath that snowstorm out there, the stars have aligned above it.”
Jolie’s face grew serious. “Are you playing with me?” she asked warily, frowning.
“Baby, I hope to be playing with you much more in the future,” I admitted. “Of course, there’s still the band to consider, but you don’t have any real ties to keep you here, apart from your work in the diner, right?” She nodded, her bright eyes twinkling excitedly.
“Then would you consider traveling with me? Not right now,” I added quickly. “I mean this is a lot to take in, but we’ve wasted so many years already …” I trailed off, like some pussy-whipped schoolboy.
“Can I have a minute to think about it?” she asked, biting her lip.
“Of course,” I mumbled, suddenly less sure of myself.
She dipped her head and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Like I need to think about it,” she mocked. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Never been surer of anything in my life.”
“Can I still do my line-dancing tutorials on TikTok, or would that cramp a rock star’s style?” she asked, giggling.
“Who am I to get in the way of a cowgirl’s budding career?” I replied, chuckling. “You can do what you want as long as you’re with me—with one condition … no letting guys slide into your direct messages.”
“Oh, thank you, Santa,” she replied.
“Santa?” I frowned, puzzled.
“Yeah, before Christmas I joked that if Father Christmas was real, he’d bring me a hot, jealous stud … a protective, alpha guy. I never figured that he’d deliver.”
My heart pounded in my chest. “So—yes?” I probed, smiling, my gut feeling it was already a done deal from the adoration in her eyes.
“After sixteen years apart and one night together, I need to say yes, I’d hate to miss out on the next sixteen years not knowing where this could go,” she replied excitedly.
My heart instantly felt full as I wrapped her in my arms and pulled her into my chest. “You just made me happier than I’ve felt in years. It’s going to be a ride, but I’ll do everything I can to make sure you don’t regret it.”
The End