Page 101 of Next Time We'll Fall

“I love you even more, darling, forever and ever. Also, now don’t hate me, but I did something.”

“You did what?”

“I contacted a bunch of different vets that I know, and they’d like to place orders for some books from you just for their veterinary offices for when their clients wait.”

“What? You shouldn’t have done that, Rafe, if I didn’t need you to do it.”

“You need an income. You weren’t going to take a loan. I wasn’t going to let you struggle, and you’re no longer going to be on that reality dating TV show. So, I figured two hundred different veterinary offices placing orders should help out a little bit.”

“Are you going to help me fill the orders?” she says, gaping at me. “Two hundred is a lot.”

“I will help you all day, every day. Don’t you understand, Juniper? I’m your ride or die. I will always be here for you, loving you, protecting you, caring for you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. You are my everything.”

Chapter 24

JUNIPER

TWO MONTHS LATER

I lie in Rafe’s comfortable king-size bed and stretch my arms above me. I feel so comfortable being here, loving the smell of bacon coming from the kitchen. I roll over and sniff the pillow. His scent is everywhere.

I feel like a little bit of a creeper in how much I love smelling his clothes and his sheets, but I guess that means that I really love him.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” he says, walking into the room.

My eyes light up as I look at him wearing a pair of loose shorts.

“I was going to make crepes if you’d like some.”

“You know I would love some.”

“Nutella and strawberries,” he says as he sits at the edge of the bed.

I nod eagerly as he leans down and kisses my forehead.

“You know me so well,” I say, and he laughs. “Thank you for making dinner last night. It was absolutely delicious.”

“You’re welcome. It wasn’t that hard. I just made some steak and mashed potatoes.”

“And you made broccoli too.”

“Yeah, but the broccoli was still a little hard.” He just shakes his head.

“I don’t mind hard broccoli.”

“You don’t mind when I’m hard, right?” He does a little wiggle and I can tell that he’s happy. There’s a lightness to both of us now that we’re together and I wonder if our bodies were just waiting for us to get together. I’d never experienced life like this before. Never felt so free, so joyous, and I wasn’t going to take one second of it for granted.

“Really, Rafe?” I say, and he chuckles.

He pulls my hands so that I’m sitting up. The sheet falls down, and he looks at my naked breasts.

“I love you being here. I don’t know how I’ve gone so many years without having you in my bed to wake up to.”

“I don’t know either,” I say, laughing.

“It’s going to be really weird when I move in here permanently though.”

“Are you sad?” he asks me, his eyes looking inquisitive. “I know it’s going to be a big move, finally getting rid of the place that you’ve shared with Mia for so long.”