Let Love Heal

coffee mug up to the group. “I’ll even make Maddy join in. It’ll be so fun.”

Lia clangs her glass against mine first. “That’s a motherfucking-awesome idea!” Okay, the wine always hits Lia the hardest, but she’s a freaking riot when she’s tipsy.

“That could totally work,” Cammie adds with the same enthusiasm minus the cursing. “We could rotate between locations, too. This way we’d all get to see where everyone is living and how they’re doing.” At the mention of that idea, I notice Peyton shift somewhat uncomfortably in her seat, but she quickly recovers and says, “Cheers to that!” as she extends her mug.

In the blink of an eye, the night is over and we’re all stepping out onto the front porch trying to block the early morning sun. Somehow, we manage to croak out a few simple words of goodbye through our tears. Watching Lia and Cammie drive off physically hurts my heart, but at the same time, I couldn’t be happier for them.

I walk Peyton over to her car, helping her with the last of her bags and give her a tight squeeze. “Don’t get all emotional on me, Melanie. I’ll be back soon enough.” She smiles cheerfully at me, but I can see the tears shining in her eyes.

“Just please call me when you get home. Okay?” I say as I take a step back from our hug. She gets into her car and drives down the road waving her hand as she pulls away.

I get the last of my bags from the front steps and load them into my car. Bryan helped me move everything else over the last few days, so all I have left is a bag of my toiletries and suitcase filled with some clothes.

I stop on the bottom step and scan my flowerbed one last time. It used to be overgrown with weeds, the soil not rich enough to sustain any life. But, in the last year, I’ve made it my little pet project. I’ve nursed it back to health, kept it weed free, planted some of my favorite flowers and watched it grow into a thing of beauty.

Pulling the delicate, hot pink petals of a freshly bloomed stargazer lily up to my nose, I inhale its sweet scent. I consider snipping it from the stalk and bringing it with me, but I decide to leave it and let it bask in the warm summer sun.

It’s only a ten minute drive to my new apartment and Bryan is already up and waiting for me. Lugging my suitcase through the front door, the heavenly smell of freshly brewed coffee mingles in the air.

“Hey, baby. Coffee?” Bryan hands me a bright purple mug as he plants a sweet kiss to my cheek.

“You’re a lifesaver,” I mumble against the rim of the mug. After one too many glasses of wine last night and shedding more tears than I have in a long time, my brain is in serious need of some caffeine.

After a few sips, I put my mug down on the counter. Bryan grabs my bag in one hand and laces our fingers together with the other. “I want to show you something.”

He pulls me down the short hallway to what will be our bedroom. I’m less than enthused about it. It’s definitely a boy’s room, but I guess I’ll just have to call Lia for some decorating help.

Bouncing excitedly in front of the closed door, Bryan tells me to close my eyes. It’s too early for me to argue with him, especially when it’s clear that he’s got something up his sleeve, so I just roll my eyes and then close them.

When Bryan opens the door for me, my nose is inundated with the sweetest scent I’ve ever known. Unable to keep my eyes closed any longer, especially now that I know what the surprise is, I stare wide-eyed into the lily- filled room. “Bryan, this … wow … this is so sweet.” There must be dozens of lilies in a few vases scattered about the room. The fragrance is bold and distinct, but not at all overpowering. The petals are strong and vibrantly colored, resilient in their own way. Holding a bloom up to my nose, I inhale deeply as Bryan wraps his arms around my waist from behind. “I know they’re your favorite and I want my place to be our place. Besides, I know how you love your flowers so I wanted to have them waiting for you when you got here today.”

I turn to face him and plant a soft kiss on his lips. “They’re beautiful, Bryan. Thank you.”

“Anything for you, Melanie. I love you.” His lips dance along my neck and shivers race across my skin.

Leaning into his kisses, I mumble, “hmmm.” We stand there with our arms wrapped tightly around one another swaying to music that’s not even playing. Nuzzling into his warm chest, I inhale the combination of woodsy cologne and pure Bryan that makes my heart skip a beat.

“I love you too, Bryan. So much.” I stretch up on my toes and kiss him fiercely. When I begin to feel the effects of my kiss pressing into my lower belly, I pull back and arch an eyebrow at him.

Bryan winks and smirks at me, saying “What? He loves you too.”

“Oh my God! I can’t believe you just said that.” I laugh at him while hugging him tightly. “You’re such a dork.”

Staring down at me with a look that’s a mixture of seriousness and playfulness, he says, “Yeah, but I’m your dork.”

“Yes, you are. All mine.” With that statement, he effortlessly lifts me up and carries me over to the bed – which is covered in a very old and ratty ‘boy’ comforter. This place is in some desperate need of purple.

Dropping me rather unceremoniously on the mattress, his lips curl into a seductive grin. “Wanna christen the bed?”

Propping myself up on my elbows, I watch as he pulls his shirt over his head. His abs and chest make me incapable of speaking, so I just nod dumbly and prepare myself for delicious torment of our lovemaking.

As he presses his body down onto mine, in between sweet kisses, he mutters, “I can’t believe this is really real. I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to have you in my life every single day.”

Focusing my stare directly into his caramel-colored irises, I let a lusty breath fill my lungs. “Bryan, I’m the lucky one. You loved me when I thought that love was the last thing I deserved. You loved me when I didn’t even love me. I can’t say that I’m prefect; God knows I’m far from it, but I’m finally okay with that. I’m so lucky to have you in my life because you taught me how to love myself.” I pull his face down to mine and kiss him with all of the love I feel. With a look that’s a mixture of light-heartedness and desire, I mutter against his soft lips, “So after we christen the bed, can we christen the couch?”

The rumbles of his deep laughter vibrate against our pressed-together chests. Smiling sexily, he says, “Oh, we’ll get the couch. And then the kitchen table, and then the laundry room. And don’t forget the shower, too.”

As his lips and tongue work their magic across my skin, I know that today will be a great day.

And tomorrow, well, tomorrow will kick today’s ass.

The End

Acknowledgments

When I wrote Let Love In and Let Love Stay, I had no idea that there would be other books for the other characters. But, when readers fell in love with the supporting cast, I knew I had to write about them – and I knew Melanie’s story had to be next. What I didn’t know is what the heck I would write! When I was in the early stages of thinking about what to write, I came across a blog post from Monica at If These Boobs Could Talk. Monica had a simple request in her post (which can be read here – http://siliconealley.blogspot.com/2013/07/hi.html): to read about an average size, not-so- stick-thin heroine. It was after that post that Melanie truly came to life for me. Never having been a size two in my life, I always struggled with my body image and feeling beautiful. Ashamed of what I looked like, or what I thought people saw when they looked at me, I felt undeserving of love for so long. So sadly, Melanie’s story is my story in a lot of ways and I have a feeling that hers is the story of all too many women. No matter your size, I hope you have one take-away from Let Love Heal – you deserve love.

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to so many people that it would be impossible to list them all. The community of indie authors is warm and inviting and so utterly helpful. Whether you answered a question for me or helped me develop a scene, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Carey Heywood, who has earned the affectionate title of my Book Wifey - I will forever be thankful for our friendship. Our late night and early morning chats about all things book related – and lots of things not-so-book related help to keep me grounded and focused. And they make me laugh, a lot!

I have a truly amazing group of beta readers who have helped so much. Thank you Susan Griffiths, Laurna