Page 17 of Love and Leashes
“Deal.” I take out my phone. “I’m cancelling the apartment tours now.”
The smile Kelly gives me is blinding. Impulsively, I grab her hand. “I love you, Kelly.”
She tilts her head to the side. “I know. I love you, too.”
No, she doesn’t know.
“I mean I’min lovewith you. That kind of love. The kind that makes me want to be with you, like this, forever.”
Her mouth falls open, and I reach over to gently push her chin up to close it. Her eyes blink rapidly, and her tongue darts out to moisten her lips.
“I’m in love with you, too, Jensen. I think…I think I always have been.”
I take her hand in mine and raise it up so I can press my lips to the back of it. “It might have taken us a while to get here, but I’m so damn happy. You’re the best part of my past, and all of my future.”
This time, Kelly initiates the kiss. But you best believe I won’t let it end for a long time. A lifetime, if I have my way.
Epilogue
Kelly
I hold my breath as I slowly lower the tower of cupcakes to the table as gingerly as possible. Somehow, luck is on my side, and I manage to put it down without a single one tipping over.
“Nicely done, babe.”
I turn at Jensen’s voice and crouch down to love up on Ollie.
“Excuse me. Why, exactly, is the dog getting attention before me?”
I look up with a sunny smile. “Simple. I love him more.”
Jensen clutches his chest. “Ouch.”
I stand up and press a kiss to his cheek. “Sorry, but yes. Dog trumps boyfriend.”
“Hmph.”
“Wow, Kelly, this is incredible.”
I turn around to find Dogwood Cove’s mayor, Ethan Monroe, and his fiancée, Summer, standing in front of me. “Thanks, guys.”
“Please tell me you’ll do something similar for our barbecue reception next month?” Summer takes my hand and gives me a pleading look.
“Of course I will. Is everything ready for your wedding? Where is it again?”
“The Cayman Islands,” Summer says, clapping her hands. “I’m so dang excited. I wish you could come with us.” Her smile starts to turn down, so I jump in.
“Nah, someone’s got to run the bakery and the café! Besides, I think it’s amazing that you’re keeping it so small and intimate.”
Ethan gives me a grateful smile. He’s one hell of a handsome man, with his lumbersnack vibes and take-charge personality. He’s also a great mayor, and completely dedicated to Summer. If I weren’t so madly in love with Jensen, I’d be jealous of her. Hell, Iwasjealous. Of her and Ethan, Mila and Jackson, Finn and Ashley, all of the amazing couples in this town. But not anymore because now, just under a year after Jensen moved to Westport, I am one of those couples. And tonight, we’re all at Oceanside Resort, the place Summer inherited from her dad, for a bonfire birthday party for Mila.
“You’re the best, Kelly.” Summer hugs my shoulders. She’s such a sweetheart, it’s easy to see how she and Mila were best friends for so long. You know those people who just have a good heart? Summer is one of those people.
Jensen pulls me into his side as Summer and Ethan are called over to a group that includes Ethan’s friend, Finn, and his fiancée, Ashley.
“Babe. She’s right, you are the best,” he mumbles against my hair before pressing his lips in a kiss. “As much as I enjoy your friends, how much longer do you need to be here?”
I look up at him confused. “Why?”
