Page 56 of Always and Forever
“This is beautiful, Ethan. And your letter. Your letter was perfect.”
“I told you, I know I need to use more than words to show you how much I love you. But you still deserve the words. I’m so sorry, Summer. I should have trusted in us, in what we were building. Instead I let fear get in the way. I didn’t even know I was scared to love someone, much less scared to lose them, until you. I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to prove to you that I’m in this one hundred percent. No more secrets.”
When I say that, she looks up and walks over, her hand fluttering out to rest on my chest. She’s so close I can smell her minty floral aroma, that delicate, fresh, beautiful scent that is Summer.
“You don’t have to prove anything to me. I don’t like what you did, but I can understand why you did it. But the thing is, Ethan, love is a risk. There’s always a chance you’ll lose someone you love.” She steps back, her arms folding in front of her chest, and I hate how much I ache from not feeling her touch. “You should have told me about Aubrey. It makes sense that you were worried about me leaving after what she did so soon after your parents died.”
I stare at her in wonder. How does she see it so clearly when I didn’t?
Then Summer closes the short distance between us, and reaches her arms up and around my neck. “But I’m not planning on going anywhere, Ethan.” Lifting up onto her toes, she kisses me at last. It’s sweet and tentative at first, as if we’re relearning each other, building back the bond of love we were creating before everything went wrong. I hold back, letting her take the lead. But when she opens her mouth, and her tongue softly strokes my lips, I welcome her in with a groan. My hands find their way to her hips, pulling her flush against my body. It’s been less than a week, yet I’ve been empty without her. Now, I can sense my heart and soul repairing themselves, and filling with the taste and feel of her in my arms again.
In the back of my mind, I know I have so much more to show her, so I reluctantly pull away.
“Come with me, shorty,” I whisper against her lips. Then, taking her hand, I turn and go up the steps to the front door of the cabin. “I had some help with this, just so you know. There’s a lot of people that want to see you succeed.”
Her brow is furrowed in confusion, but it quickly softens into surprise and happiness when I push the door open, turn on a switch, and she takes it all in.
The cabin is bathed in light, illuminating everything I’ve worked on these last few days. I tried my best to follow the design ideas Summer had shared with me, keeping everything light and airy, with an ocean theme in mind. The furniture is comfortable and eclectic, the bedspread a pale blue to match the cushions on the couch. Shelves on the wall are a mixture of nautical and aquatic décor, like shells and anchors, with some books about the area stacked up on one shelf for visitors to enjoy.
Summer turns in a slow circle, and her smile grows and grows.
“Ethan, it’s perfect.” She walks around the one-room cabin, trailing her hand over everything. Pausing at a lamp with rope wrapped around the base, she turns to me. “There’s electricity. How is there electricity?”
“Reid and I got it all hooked back up.”
“No, I mean, how did you pay for it?” She’s starting to look concerned, so I pull out the final piece of my plan.
“Mrs. Henderson wanted me to give you this. Just know it’s not a joke, and she’ll explain everything.”
I give her the cheque, and watch her eyes widen in disbelief when she sees the amount written down.
“What? This…this is a lot of money. How can she give this to me? Why?”
I put my hands on her shoulders and guide her to sit down on the couch. “She’ll explain it all, but let’s just say she was going to be your dad’s silent partner. When he died, she decided to pass on her support to you.”
“But this will pay for everything.” When she looks back at me, she’s glowing. “Ethan, with this I can open the resort, and soon!”
“I know, babe,” I say with a smile. “That’s what I wanted to show you with this cabin. You can make your dad’s plan come to life. And I want to be right here beside you every step of the way.”
Summer drops the cheque and throws herself at me. I catch her and settle her in my lap as she hugs me tightly. I can feel her heart beating strong and steady, and I finally let myself drop the last weight of worry and guilt.
“Thank you,” she mumbles into my shoulder, before lifting her head to look at me. “I love you, Ethan Monroe.
It’s the first time she’s said the words, and it’s every bit as perfect as I thought it would be.
“I love you, too. And I always will.”
“Always and forever, right?” she says with a smile, repeating back the words from my note to her.
“Always and forever.”
This time when we kiss, I take control, drinking her in deeply. Then I stand up, taking her with me, and walk over to the bed where I slowly lower her down before finally taking my lips off of her.
“Want to christen the bed with me?” I waggle my eyebrows and earn the sweet giggle I was hoping for. Instead of answering me with words, Summer lifts the bottom of my shirt up and off my body before running her hands up my torso to reach my shoulders.
The look she gives me is all the signal I need. Our clothes come off in a frenzy and soon she’s stretched out underneath me, her body glowing in the soft light.
“Summer,” I murmur softly as my hand strokes the hair back from her face. She pulls me down for a long, slow kiss that only breaks when my dick finds its way between her legs and I feel the wet heat waiting for me there. I move down her body slowly, dropping kisses everywhere I can as she writhes underneath me like the wanton goddess she is. When I reach the center of her arousal, I run my nose along the crease of her inner thigh, breathing in the scent of Summer and sex.
