For a moment, neither said a thing, breaths coming fast and heavy as they coiled themselves around each other tighter. A thought flashed in her head, and she dared to utter it. “The fantasy just isn’t enough anymore, Zane. I need this. So much more of this.”
Zane’s mind and body were reeling in the best possible way. It took every ounce of energy he had left to carry her over to the bed and set her down without dropping her. He was wonderfully spent.
He tossed aside the throw pillows littering the bed, then pulled back the duvet. Both a bit delirious, they found their way under the covers, immediately drawn to each other. Allison curled into his body and kissed his chest. He loved having her in his bed. As amazing as things had been on the island, this was different. The fantasy world had fallen away, but even framed by his everyday reality, being with Allison felt like a dream. Was he falling for her? The perpetual bachelor? His mom had certainly made a compelling case for his finally jettisoning those ways.
“You’re so amazing,” she muttered.
“You’re the amazing one.” The words came so fast. He didn’t even have to think about them. That was it—he really had fallen. He’d gone through life telling himself that he wouldn’t let it happen. He’d seen what it did to his parents when love fell apart. There was no way that risking that much pain could ever be worth it. But being here with Allison and knowing that his heart wanted nothing else made him realize that there was no way to build up an immunity to love. It had taken the right woman to show him that. The perfect woman. Allison. He caressed her naked back with his hand. “No argument?” He’d half expected her to dispute his claim that she was the amazing one. Instead, she was being incredibly still and quiet. He must have really sent her to the moon and back. She’d certainly done that for him.
“I’m thinking.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
He smiled in the dark. “Me, too.” So many thoughts were swirling around in his head, all of them surprisingly good. When had things ever been like that? No time in recent history, that was for sure.
“I need to tell you something.”
He’d been about to say the exact same thing, but she’d gotten to it first. “What is it?”
She drew in a breath so deep her entire body rose and fell in the cradle of his arm. “What I’m about to say... I just... I don’t want you to get upset. But I would understand if you did.” She rolled away from him and switched on the lamp on her side of the bed.
He squinted at the bright light. It got Zane’s attention, and not just because he was enjoying the view of her naked backside while she was turned away. He sat up in bed. “Okay.” Whatever she was about to say, he wanted to just get past it. He was tired of bad news and dire circumstances keeping him from happiness. Whatever it was, they would find a way around it. “Please. Just tell me. I can take it.”
She grabbed a corner of the comforter and covered herself up. “First off, the job I’m working on here in Falling Brook is going really well. They’ve put me on retainer for the next month, and if things go the way I think they will, it will become permanent. They would be a big enough client for me to move back to Falling Brook. To stay here in town.”
The relief Zane felt was immense. It was like someone had been standing on his chest and they’d finally stepped off. “That’s amazing. I’m so happy for you.” In truth, he was happy for them. Long distance would have been terrible and certainly no way for them to truly move forward together. Now he had one less thing to worry about.
“Thanks. I’m really happy about it, too. I’ve worked really hard for this.”
Now that he’d had a minute for this news to sink in, his brain was starting to catch up. Falling Brook was a small town. Most businesspeople who lived here were CEOs or senior management for big corporations in the city, not local operations like Zane’s. But who could it be? “And this company is based right here in town?”
“Yes, but hold on a minute. Before I get to that, I need to tell you that I realized tonight that I can’t make the decision to stay here in Falling Brook until we have a discussion about us. And I don’t want to hit you with some big heavy talk right now, especially after we just had totally mind-blowing sex, but I can’t move back here and see you on the street or at the Java Hut and not be able to walk up to you and hug you. Kiss you and hold your hand. I’ve done that before and it nearly killed me.”
Now he was starting to see where she was coming from, and he was totally on board. In fact, he couldn’t ignore the happy feeling in his heart. She wanted him and he wanted her, for more than just sex. “So we need to come clean with Scott. I completely agree. We can either do it together or if you want, I can tell him on my own and then you guys can have your own talk. But no matter what, I think we need to make it clear that this isn’t us asking him for permission. In the end, we’re our own people. We make our
