Chapter 56
fifty-six
ROWAN
I hear a knock on my office door while I’m setting up new ideas for flavors I want to play with. We’re starting to go into the fall season, and I like to mix things up and bring some new flavors that complement the crisp air and warm meals.
“Yeah,” I shout.
The door opens, and when I look up, I see the one woman who can always make my heart gallop out of my chest. Her smile brightens my entire mood when I watch her walk in. Her tan legs show off under the shorts she’s wearing. The white, low-cut top makes her breasts look incredible.
I’m drooling, and I’m not ashamed.
“Hey,” I say, getting up from my chair and walking over to her.
I pull her in for a hug, and my body melts when her arms wrap around my neck, pulling me down to her. She kisses my neck and then looks at me.
“Hi,” she says warmly.
“Hi.” I look into her blue eyes, and right now, it’s just me and her, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
“Watcha doin?” She gestures to my desk.
“Getting some ideas for new beers to brew. With the season changing, I want to swap out some summer tastes for some fall ones.”
Her smile fades and stiffens around me. I furrow my brows in confusion.
“What’s wrong?” I stand up straight and guide her to the couch in the office.
When she sits next to me, she brings up her legs and tucks them against her, wrapping her arms around her knees.
“I didn’t get to tell you this, but my job called me when I was at the beach with Riley and Hailey.”
My stomach drops. We’ve been so wrapped up in each other's arms, forgetting the real world, that I forgot all about her job back in New York. And after the bombshell I dropped on her a couple of nights ago, my mind has been occupied, to say the least.
“What happened?” I grab her soft hand in mine while I listen.
“My boss called. She was checking in on me, seeing how I was doing, but also asked if I was still thinking about the new position. I told her I would have an answer for her soon.” She rests her head on the side of the couch, still looking at me.
I nod my head slowly while my mind runs a mile a minute. I need to rip this fucking band-aid off and just ask her what she plans to do. About work, about us. Where her mind is after telling her about the proposal I had planned.
“Do you have an answer for her?” I ask.
She lets out a sigh before saying, “My head is telling me to go back to that kitchen. Take the promotion.”
I continue to look at her, waiting for her next words, hoping that I am included.
“But my heart is telling me to stay here. Stay with the people who make me happy. Stay with you and see where things go. I…don’t think I want to lose that chance again.”
My brows lift in surprise. My heart flutters like a butterfly from the thought of her staying for good. That or I’m having an arrhythmia.
She looks down and bites her bottom lip, thinking. I love this girl so God damn much that I’d be willing to leave the brewery to James and follow her back to the city if I need to. I can’t lose her again. So, I risk saying what I’m thinking.
“If you feel like you need to go back to New York.” I pause when I notice her looking back at me with worry in her eyes. “I will go with you.”
Her head snaps back up. “What?”
“I will follow you, stay with you if it means you can keep the job you’ve worked so hard at. I want you to be happy, and if that means me coming with you, then I will do that.”
“I’m not letting you move across the country just for me. You have a business here, family here. And Milo? He’s too good for the city. You can’t take him away from here.”
“Milo would drag my ass to follow you. He loves you just as much as I do. Haven’t you noticed how he always follows you around? I had to carry him out of the bedroom just so I could get you to myself.” I chuckle.
Ellie laughs and covers her face with her hand. But it stops quickly when she starts to think about things again.
I lean toward her and meet her eyes. “I’m not letting you go this time. Not again. I will get on that plane with you. Make August drive your car back.” I smirk.
She looks at me with so much wonder in her eyes, and I never want to let that shine burn out. I will do anything to keep it from fading.
“You’re mine , Ellie. The moment you said those three words back to me, it was game over. You’re stuck with me, and I’m stuck with you.”
She places her hand on my cheek, rubbing the stubble on my face gently, and I close my eyes while soaking in the touch of her.
“What about your dad? You just got him back in your life,” she whispers.
“I’ll worry about that when the time comes.” I open my eyes to look at her again.
She shakes her head. “You can’t drop your life for me, Ro. Not when you have your dad back. I won’t allow it. Plus, my mind is still trying to process what you told me the other night. You know, your undying love for me and wanting to propose.”
“You can joke and poke fun all you want if that’s what makes you feel better. You can fight me on this till you're blue in the face. I’ll pack up my things right now while you continue to try to ‘not allow’ me to do this.” I playfully mock her.
“You’re such a butthead.” She narrows her eyes at me with a smile.
“Yeah, but I’m your butthead, and you’re stuck with me.” I bop her on the nose and smile. “Now can I have a kiss?”
She rolls her eyes but doesn’t hide the smile. She meets me halfway and gives me a soft kiss, her pillowy lips caressing mine in the sexiest way. I know we’re in my office, but I would take her right now.
Our kiss turns deep, passionate, and slow. She parts her lips for me, allowing me to let my tongue find hers. I brace my hands on her waist and pull her on top to straddle me. Her arms wrap around my neck again.
“You don’t need to come with me,” she breathes between kisses.
“Ellie,” I reply while I continue to kiss her. “I go where you go.” I tug on the bottom of her lip.
“No,” she continues. “I mean.” She pulls back, her lips already red, and looks at me. “I can stay here for good. I—I can leave my job. Come back home. Give us a fresh start.”
My brows pinch together, and I shake my head. “You’re not going to do that. What you have going for you is incredible. You’re not leaving that world behind just for me.”
“I want to, Rowan. When I came back home, I thought I didn’t have anything to keep me here again. That I was just here for the summer and that was it. But now, well, now, I have so many reasons to stay. The biggest one is you.
“I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. A lot of it has to do with how unhappy I am back in that fast-paced world. I did it for years, and... I think I’m ready to move on. Come back to a place where I can see the stars every night. Be here with my brother. Everyone. And maybe even start a bakery here?
“I don’t know, maybe I won’t, and I’ll do something else. What I do know is that I want to stay here. Where I was for the past nine years,” she shakes her head, “I lost myself, and I won’t let that happen again. You reminded me who I used to be. You made me remember what it feels like to be genuinely happy.”
She cups my face in her hands, looking at me with so much admiration and love, something I never thought I’d get from her again.
“I know you said that I was a big part of the reason you decided to see your dad and start to heal yourself. But you’ve done just as much for me to really decide what the hell I wanted to do. Seeing the courage, it took for you to see a man you never thought you’d ever see again and look how well that out for you. I want that for myself. I want to feel whole again, and I know it will only happen if I’m here with you. So please.” She kisses me. “Let me make this decision and stay. Let me start a new chapter in my life with you.”
“Are you sure?” I can’t help but ask.
“The stars brought me back home to you. And I am so deeply and madly in love with you. So yes, I’m sure.”