“Holy shit.” His whole face lit up, and he practically vibrated with happiness, and well, the old Ethan was back. But he was even better. This Ethan was the sweet guy she’d once known, but he had confidence and a whole lot of life experience behind him now. And he loved her. “I’m the luckiest guy on earth.”
She rested her hands on his chest, right over his thumping heart. “Then we make a great pair, because I’m pretty damn happy, too.”
“Well, then…” His hands fell to her hips, and he hauled her closer. “Kiss me already. It’s gotta be you, to make it official.”
The bar, which had been silent, broke out in applause again. Someone shouted, “Yeah, kiss him!”
Ethan shot the crowd a cocky grin…and then she kissed that grin right off of his face.
Chapter Twelve
Ethan returned her kiss, his whole body unbelievably alive and in tune to her. When she leaned closer, her nails digging into his chest, he broke the kiss off with a sigh. He wanted to explore this new feeling of love a little bit more, but not here. Not in front of the whole bar.
That was something best done behind closed doors.
He pulled back and grinned down at her. “To be continued,” he whispered, kissing the tip of her nose. Then he turned to the bar and said, “Thank you very much. We’ll be on our way now, if you don’t mind.”
There were a few catcalls and drunken suggestions of what they should do next—which he had every intention of following, thank you very much—as he led her down the stage.
“Wow, they’re really into this,” Ashley whispered, forcing a smile. “Quick, head for the door before they make you sing again.”
“I doubt they want to hear that again,” he called over his shoulder, leading her out the door and into the cold winter night. As soon as they pushed through the doors, he pulled her into an alley and hugged her close, unable to believe she was giving him another chance.
He probably didn’t deserve it, but he’d take it anyway.
“I’m s-sorry…I’m sorry I left you.” He closed his arms around her, holding her as close as he could possibly manage. “I’m sorry that I almost did it again, and I’m sorry that it took me so long to—”
She kissed him, quick and hard. “It doesn’t matter anymore. We don’t need to talk about it anymore. All that matters is you’re here, and you’re not running anymore.”
“Absolutely not. I already called my work. They agreed to let me work remotely.” His hands flexed on her lower back. “I can stay. No, I want to stay here with you.”
She bit her lip. “But are you sure? I don’t want you to do something that will make you unhappy. We could do long-distance. Try it out for a bit and see how it goes.”
“We’ll have to do that for a little while. I’ll have to close up shop over there and move. But I already know that being without you will make me unhappy.” He shook his head and hugged her even closer, loving her for caring about him enough to try and make the best choice for him—not the best choice for her. But he wouldn’t let her do that. They were a team, and teams stayed together. “I’m not leaving you again. I already made that mistake once and almost made it a second time. I’m not going to do it again.”
“Well, if you’re sure…” She smiled up at him. “Then I’m not going to argue.”
His eyes darkened, and he closed the distance between them, his tongue sweeping into her mouth without delay. She pushed him back against the wall, her teeth nipping at his lip, and pressed her body against his. His stomach clenched with need, and his heart twisted with happiness and love. So much freaking love.
By the time the kiss ended, he clung to her hips desperately. He smiled and dropped his forehead to hers. “Let’s go home. But first…”
He ran his thumb over the line of her jaw, kissing her tenderly. He slanted his mouth, capturing her fully. She pressed him against the wall even more, clearly craving control tonight, and he’d give it to her. He’d give her anything she f**king wanted.
No questions asked.
He broke off the kiss. “Race you home?”
She bit his lower lip, applying just enough pressure to sting a tiny bit. “We’re too old for that, aren’t we?” She dropped his hand, backed up a few steps, and then took off running, calling over her shoulder, “But the first one home gets to be on top.”
He laughed and gave chase, yelling at her from behind, “Cheater.”
“Not true,” she called back, grinning at him over her shoulder. “I’m smaller. It’s only fair.”
He easily caught up to her and picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder. As he sprinted the last half of the block to her house with her hanging limply in his arms, he couldn’t stop smiling. It was like a medical condition he never wanted to be healed of.
This was life. This was living.
And he was never going back to the man he’d been.
He was where he belonged. He was home.
With her.
Epilogue
New Year’s Eve
One Year Later
Ashley laughed at something Roger said, but honestly didn’t hear a single word. Her mind was on Ethan. It was New Year’s Eve, and they were in the same bar they’d been in a year ago. Only this time they were together.
And she couldn’t wait for her kiss at midnight.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around. It was Alex. “Yeah?”
“Can I steal you for a minute?”
“Yeah, sure.” Ashley smiled at her friends. “I’ll be right back.” Once they walked a little bit away from the group, she cocked her head and asked, “What’s up?”
“I have a note for you.” He shoved a yellow piece of paper under her nose. “Ethan told me to give this to you.”
Her lips curved into a smile. “Again?” She took it, her heart pounding in her ears. After stealing a quick glance at Alex, she opened it but didn’t read it. “What’s going on?”
Alex gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Read the note, and you’ll find out.”
She opened the piece of paper.
Ashley,
Meet me at our spot. You have to kiss me at midnight to make it official.
Ethan
She smiled and gave the note back to Alex. “Thank you.”
She headed for the front door, but he stepped in her path, his cheeks red. “Uh. You have to go out the back. It’s, uh, quicker. Yeah. Quicker.”