Page 110 of Lost Hours
The team had roped off a section on the inn’s property to save the space for their night. After all, there had to be some perks of owning the place during such an event. Everyone was present, sitting on blankets. When they approached, the others looked up at them.
“Youdid notchange.” Reece pouted.
“Don’t make a big deal about it,” Nolan said. “Not everyone is as comfortable dressed like that as you are.”
Reece frowned. “At least tell me you got to see her in the dress.”
“I did, and she looked beautiful in it, but she’s just as beautiful now.”
Gabe groaned. “If I’d known this sappy talk was the price of admission to the fireworks, I would’ve skipped the night.”
Abby socked him in the arm. “You’re just jealous that you don’t have someone special.”
“Trust me,” Gabe said. “When or if there’s someone special in my life, I won’t be laying it all bare like this.”
“We’ll see.” Abby smirked.
Nolan picked up a wicker basket and no one tried to stop him. “We’re going to head down the cliff a little bit to watch the fireworks. See you later.”
Nolan took her hand, and they started away from the group. As they walked, memories of their kisses long ago came back, and her heart skipped a beat in anticipation.
He continued down the cliff, passing locals and sending their tongues wagging. She could hear some of the comments. They weren’t mean, but she and Nolan had obviously surprised people.
He directed her through long grass and past a large boulder to a private space. Setting down the basket, he dug out a blanket and unfurled it. The soft breeze caught hold, fluttering it in the air before the fabric landed on the tall grass. “I should’ve thought to mow over here today, but then I guess if the grass was short other people would’ve come over here too.”
“It’s perfect.” She sat on the blanket and was thankful she wasn’t trying to maneuver around with a frilly dress.
He dropped down next to her and reached into the basket to pull out a bottle of sparkling cider and two glasses. “I thought we might want to toast the beginning of our relationship.”
“That’s so sweet of you to think of that.” She slid closer to him. “We can do that. We should do that. We will do that. But first this.”
She reached up and cupped his face, feeling his strong jawline beneath her fingers. It’d been so long since she’d touched him, and she thought she’d never do it again. Yet she’d dreamed of him, of touching him, kissing him more times than she’d like to admit.
He gently ran a finger over her cheekbone, then slid his hand into her hair to release the soft waves from the clip Reece had put in and let them fall over her shoulders.
“So many memories are hitting me right now.” He clasped the back of her head and pulled her closer. “But we have to forget those and start over. Start again. This time it won’t end.”
His head came down, his lips pressing against hers, demanding, urgent. She hadn’t expected a soft kiss. Not after all they’d lost. The time they’d lost. And she didn’t want one. She wanted this. Exactly this.
She slipped her arms around his neck, and he pressed a muscular arm around her lower back and drew her close. She felt safe. Like she didn’t feel any other time in her life. Difficult law enforcement experiences that always troubled her vanished, which rarely happened, and she had no fear. Was at peace.
He deepened the kiss. His lips were soft but urgent. She matched him with the same urgency. He’d always known what she liked. What she expected. What she wanted.
He knew her in a way no one else had ever known.
An explosion sounded in the sky and lights flashed above the ocean.
With a groan, he pulled away and looked at her. “So when we’re old and our kids ask us what it was like to be together when we were young, can I tell them when I first kissed you, I saw fireworks?”
She laughed, her heart happy and filled with unrestrained love. “I mean, you can tell them that, but it’s not true. This certainly wasn’t the first time you kissed me.”
“And it wasn’t the first time I saw fireworks when I kissed you either.”
She swatted a hand at him, and he grabbed it to press his lips on the back side. “Okay, fine, I didn’t see actual fireworks, but I might have with the way I felt. With the way I feel now. I loved you then, and I love you now.”
“I love you too.” She ran a finger over his lower lip. “So where do we go from here?”
“The shortest dating relationship and engagement ever recorded?” He slid an arm around her back and turned them both to watch the colorful explosions in the sky.
