Chapter 33
thirty-three
. . .
Cutler
“I want to say something to you, and I need you to hear me,” I said.
“Okay.” She searched my gaze.
“We will figure this out. It’s not about where we live, it’s about how we move forward.” He tucked the hair behind my ear and traced the pad of his thumb along my cheek. “This means no more secrets. We tell our parents. The people in our lives should know that we’re together.”
Her eyes widened. “Okay. You don’t think that will add extra pressure?”
“Jeege, I don’t feel pressure about being with you.
I want to be with you. I’ve been miserable ever since you left.
Fucking miserable. And I’m not saying that because we can’t make it work if we don’t live in the same state.
But we can’t make it work if we don’t at least admit that we want it to work. Does that make sense?”
“Yes.” She nodded, eyes wet with emotion.
“So, we don’t hide it. We don’t avoid it.
We face it head-on.” I reached beneath her chin, tilting her face up so she was facing me.
“I love you. Not like a best friend. Not in a way that I want to play it safe. This is a my-life-doesn’t-work-without-you kind of love. A nothing-else-matters kind of love.”
She nodded, bottom lip trembling now. “I love you the same way.”
“Then it doesn’t matter where we live. And we don’t have to decide today.
You stay here and kick ass and see what you think of living in the city.
If you love it here, and this is where you want to be—then I will sell my company and move here.
I’ll start a new company here with you if that’s what we decide is best. It doesn’t matter where I work. What matters is that we’re together.”
“You would move here?”
“I would absolutely move here.”
She sniffed a few times, and I swiped my thumbs beneath her eyes. “And for now, we can visit each other. I get weekends off sometimes.”
I chuckled. “Yes. It was ridiculous to think we wouldn’t visit.
We’ll talk every day, and we won’t be afraid to tell one another how much we miss each other.
We’ll make this work, because we want it to work.
I’m not afraid to say that. I want this to work, Gracie Reynolds. You and me. We’re end-game.”
A smile spread across her gorgeous face. “Very smooth, Bear. Did you just say we’re ‘end-game’?”
“Damn straight.”
“We’ve always been end-game, haven’t we?” she said, a single tear streaking down her cheek.
“We have.”
I leaned down and covered her mouth with mine. It was frantic and needy, and I couldn’t get enough.
I wanted everything with this girl.
And I wanted it to start right now.
She pulled back and searched my gaze. “So we’re really doing this?”
“Yes.”
The sweetest smile spread across her gorgeous face. “Thank you for fighting for us.”
“There’s nothing more important to me in the world.” I intertwined my fingers with hers and glanced at the coffee table to see the pink faded wooden heart sitting there. “Does that go with the décor?”
She chuckled. “It goes with me wherever I go. It’s like I have a piece of you here when we aren’t together.”
“Damn. That heart has some miles on it.” My gaze locked with hers. “CH plus GR. I even knew it back then. It just took me a while to get my shit together.”
“You were worth the wait.”
“Yeah?” I ran the tips of my fingers through her silky hair. “So, I had this plan that as soon as you agreed that this is what you wanted too, we would call our families immediately. No more waiting.”
She tilted her head to the side. “And that’s not the plan now?”
“Well, I’m struggling with the fact that I want to strip you naked and bury myself in you, but I also want to insist we tell everyone that we’re together immediately, because I want everyone to know that this is real.”
She placed both hands on my cheeks. “This is as real as it gets. And I love that you want to make it official with our families, and so do I. But what if we just change the order that we do it?”
“I like the sound of that,” I said as she pushed up a bit and unbuckled my jeans. I shifted forward and slid them down my legs, along with my briefs. Gracie hiked her skirt up so it pooled around her waist, and she reached down to take off her heels, but I stopped her. “Leave those on.”
Her cheeks flushed pink as she raised herself up and wrapped her hand around my erection and slowly slid down.
Inch by fucking inch.
Taking me all the way in.
“Goddamn, I missed you,” I hissed as I gripped her perfect ass and guided her up and down my shaft.
Her head fell back, and her sweater fell off one shoulder. I tugged it down, exposing her lacy cream bra. I sealed my lips right over the fabric and sucked, using my tongue to flick her hard peak.
“Yes, don’t stop,” she whispered, her voice laced with need.
“Never fucking stopping, baby,” I grunted before pulling her bra down so I could have access to her beautiful tits.
She arched her back, hands resting on the tops of my thighs to support herself as she rode me into oblivion.
Over and over.
I could feel her getting closer as she tightened around me.
Needy and desperate.
I pulled back so I could watch her.
My girl.
Her hair fell down her back as she rocked up and down my dick like it was her day job.
I was in awe of her.
Tits bouncing, lips parted, cheeks flushed.
I’d never seen anything more beautiful.
I pressed my thumb to her clit in little circles, knowing just what she needed.
A gasp left her lips as she shattered around me, and I pumped into her once more.
And again.
A guttural sound escaped my throat as I went right over the edge with her.
She fell forward, and I buried my face in her neck as our labored breaths filled the air around us.
She was mine and I was hers, and I felt it in every inch of my body.
I wrapped my arms around her as her body fell limp against me and her breathing slowed.
And I just held her there for a few minutes until we both came back to reality.
She pulled back to look at me, and I tucked her hair behind her ears.
“I’m glad we went with that first.” She smirked, and I laughed.
“It was the better plan.”
“It really was.” She chuckled as she slowly lifted up, and she got up and made her way to the bathroom. I followed her in there, and we cleaned ourselves up.
“What are you smiling about?” I asked as I moved behind her where she stood at the sink, and my gaze met hers in the reflection of the mirror.
She turned around to face me. “I’m smiling because I just realized we get to do that whenever we’re together, and there are no more rules in place to say that we have to stop.”
“I like the sound of that. I’m all yours, Jeege.”
“I think in a way I’ve always been yours.” She shrugged. “We just had to wait for the right time.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “The irony is not lost on me.”
“What do you mean?” She tipped her head up to look at me.
“We’ve finally figured it out, and now we live on opposite sides of the country.
But once you realize that you love someone so intensely that you can’t live without them, distance is no longer an obstacle.
Because this,” I said, motioning between us, “this is unbreakable. You and me—we’re unbreakable. ”
“I couldn’t agree more. So let’s go make those phone calls,” she said, pushing up on her tiptoes and kissing me. “And then I’ll feed you.”
We settled at the dining room table with Gracie sitting on my lap, and we propped the phone up as we FaceTimed her mom first.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Presley said, her eyes going wide when she realized I was here as well. “I didn’t know Cutler was visiting this weekend!”
“Yes. He surprised me. And I have a surprise for you. Is Dad nearby?” Gracie asked.
“He is,” she said, calling out for Cage to come join her.
“Hey, Gracie girl. Is that Cutler with you?” He squinted at the phone.
“He surprised her,” Presley said. “And Gracie has a surprise for us.”
“You’re moving back to Cottonwood Cove?” Cage asked, his voice filled with hope.
“No, Dad, that’s not it,” she chuckled. “But Cutler and I have news.”
“Okay,” they both said at the same time.
“Shall I?” I asked, and Gracie nodded. Was I suddenly nervous?
The Reynolds were like family to me, but this was a big deal.
A big fucking deal, and I knew it. And I wanted them to know that I took it very seriously.
I shifted in my seat, and the moment she threaded her fingers with mine and smiled, I completely relaxed.
“Well, do you remember when I said that I was seeing someone when I saw you last?”
“Yes. I was horrified for trying to set you up with Britani.” Presley shook her head, as if she was still shocked by the way that had all played out.
“Well, I wanted you to know that I’m crazy in love with this girl right here.
She’s been my best friend my whole life, and we realized it was more than just a friendship a few months ago, and then she had to go and move across the country.
” I chuckled. “But when you love someone the way I love her—the way I love your daughter—then you fight like hell to make it work. And that’s what we’re going to do. ”
They were both staring at the phone with their mouths hanging open, as if they’d been completely caught off-guard.
“You’re in love with Gracie? Our Gracie? Your Gracie?” Cage asked, his voice calm and even.
“Yes. I’m madly in love with our girl. And we didn’t want to tell you when you visited, because we weren’t sure what we would do when she left for New York.”
“Oh my gosh.” Presley burst into tears. “Oh my gosh. Cage. Did you hear that? They’re in love. Cutler and Gracie. This is the best news I’ve ever heard.”
“Baby, I’m sitting right next to you,” Cage said with a laugh.
“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you, but we weren’t sure how we’d make it work, or what we’d do when I moved here. But we’re going to figure it out, because I’m madly in love with this guy right here,” Gracie said as tears streamed down her face now too.
“Why the hell are my wife and daughter crying?” Cage asked, scratching the back of his neck.
“Because they love each other,” Presley said, and her voice cracked as the words left her mouth. “I always knew they belonged together.”
“And that made you cry?” he asked, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“They’re happy tears, Dad.” Gracie sniffed a few times, a sweet smile settling on her face.
“Have you told Nash and Emerson yet?” Gracie’s mom asked. “Because she and I are going to get on the phone immediately about this to celebrate.”
“We’re calling them next,” Gracie said.
“Man, I’m really happy about this. I’ve never liked anyone you’ve dated, if I’m being honest,” Cage said, a wide grin on his face. “But this is as good as it gets. We love you both.”
“Love you,” Gracie and I said at the same time before ending the call. We quickly dialed my parents before Presley beat us to the punch.
It was the same reaction with my mom and dad. My mother cried. My dad pumped his fist. They asked a dozen questions, and we answered each one the best we could, my arms wrapped tight around my girl.
“So you were together when we were in Blue Sky Bay?” my mother asked for the fourth time.
“We were, Mama,” I said. “But we didn’t want to add any pressure to our relationship, as we didn’t know how it would all play out once Gracie moved.”
“And you’ve got it figured out now?” my father asked.
“We do,” I said. “We’ll be long-distance for a while and give Gracie some time to see if this is where she wants to be. And if this is the city she needs to live in, then I’ll be closing down the business in Blue Sky Bay and moving here and building something new in New York.”
I didn’t know how my dad would respond to my plan, but I wasn’t going to lie about what I was willing to do to make this work.
His lips turned up in the corners. “Proud of you, son. You already know the secret to life.”
“What’s that, baby?” my mother asked, smiling at my father like he hung the moon.
“That you should always put the people you love in your life first. There’s nothing more important than family, and he’s always understood it.
But his romantic life had me a little worried for a while,” my father said, and his gaze locked with mine.
“I wanted you to experience that life-changing kind of love, the kind that I have with your mother. Because not everyone finds it. And looking at you two right now, I know that you have it. And as a father, there’s nothing that I want more for you.
You can build a business anywhere, Cutler.
You can make money anywhere. But you can’t find your person anywhere.
So you fight like hell for that when you find it. ”
And now my mom and Gracie were both crying.
I chuckled and wrapped my arms around her a little tighter. “We know how lucky we are, and we’ll do whatever it takes to make it work.”
And I knew that we would.
C and G for life.