Chapter Eight
Ashley
Hugging a pillow, I woke up to an empty space next to me. The sheets where he’d been sleeping were cold when I reached over to feel them. Rolling onto my back, I blinked up at the ceiling while my groggy mind tried to decipher if it was all a dream.
I’d had some vivid dreams before, but never quite like that.
The smell of coffee made me sit up. He really was here! Or at least he had been.
While in the bathroom, I ran a brush through my hair before brushing my teeth and grabbing my black silk robe off the hook on the back of the door.
I pulled it on while walking toward the bedroom door, anxious to see Sloane this morning. Maybe he’d want to finish what we’d started yesterday, now that he’d gotten a good night’s sleep.
As I passed by my closet, I noticed his duffel bag was gone. I knew it’d been there last night because I’d almost tripped over it, but now it was nowhere to be found.
I felt my shoulders droop in defeat and chuffed out a mirthless laugh as tears filled my eyes when I made my way to the kitchen.
I shouldn’t be surprised, really. It’s not like this was the first time I’d gone to bed with a man only to wake up alone.
At least he made coffee , I mused bitterly while I poured myself a cup, angrily wiping away the tears. After doctoring it with sugar and creamer, I stared out the slider door in the living room while taking the first sip of the god’s nectar.
Thank God, I’ll always have coffee.
That’s when I saw his duffel bag sitting next to the couch.
Setting my mug down with a thud, I quickly went to the living area. Maybe he’d come out to sleep on the couch after all?
It didn’t make sense—wouldn’t I have noticed his six-foot plus frame? And if he made coffee, he’d obviously already been awake, why would he need to sleep on the couch?
No surprise, the couch was unoccupied.
So, where was he?
Looking around the room, as if he might be hiding in a corner, I noticed the pen and a pad of paper on the kitchen table.
Snatching it up, I let out a deep breath and my chest felt instantly lighter as I read the familiar handwriting.
Good morning, sweetness!
You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you, so I went for a run.
I’ll bring home donuts (I know the glazed ones are your favorite).
See you soon.
xoxo,
Sloane
I clutched the legal pad to my breast like a lunatic.
He hadn’t snuck out… he was bringing me donuts!
I might have to admit to myself that I was in love, because what girl didn’t love a man who brought home donuts?
****
Sloane
My steps felt light as I pounded the city pavement toward the beach. It was going to be nice to run on sand that was actually near water for a change.
Yet, the smell of the ocean wasn’t the reason for my good mood. It was the brown-haired beauty I’d woken up next to. She was as genuine in person as she’d been in her letters.
I might have been a creeper and stared at her while she lay sleeping, imagining what it would be like to wake up every day next to her. What she’d look like with my baby inside her.
Slow the fuck down, Sloane. You haven’t even had sex with her.
That detail was hopefully going to be remedied later today.
The rest of it—waking up with her every day, having rugrats with her—I wanted that. She was it for me. I’d thought as much after we’d exchanged letters every day for weeks, but it’d been confirmed when I held her in my arms last night. And the funny thing was that realization hadn’t caused feelings of panic. No, they’d brought a sense of peace.
I was fucking in love with Ashley Youngman.
It’d probably be best if I kept that information to myself for a while. That’s not something I could confess after having been with her in person for less than twenty-four hours. She’d think I was crazy—or worse, lying.
My friends would think I was being rash. They’d probably chalk it up to PTSD or some shit and try to convince me I didn’t really feel this way.
But I did. I felt it in my soul. She was the one.