Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 121210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
I don’t know how long the kiss lasts, but when the sounds of people clapping and cheering and hooting and hollering start to filter into my ears, Clay pulls away on a laugh.
Only then do I realize that the music is no longer playing, and the entire reception of my sister’s wedding is staring right us.
“Hell yeah, Clay and Josie!” Pete shouts with a big-ass smile on his face and his arm wrapped around Eileen Martin.
“It’s about time!” Earl calls out and holds up a glass of beer.
And when my gaze meets my sister’s, I find her standing on the dance floor, her arms still wrapped around Bennett’s waist, but a tear-filled smile on her face. Norah doesn’t know everything, and one day soon, I’ll tell her.
But right now, I have other things I need to do.
“So…can we leave?” I question, looking right at Clay.
“I thought you’d never fucking ask,” he answers through a laugh, but then he pauses for a moment and sets me back to my feet.
“Clay?” I question, confusion highlighting my voice, but he just shakes his head and flashes the kind of smile I feel all the way to my toes as he gets down on one knee.
“Josie,” he says, pulling something out of the pocket of his pants. And then, in a matter of seconds, my engagement ring, my ring that’s shaped like a water tower that Clay picked out just for me all those years ago, is clutched between his thumb and index finger and being held in front of me. “Will you do me the honor of letting me put this ring back on the pretty little finger that it belongs on?”
“Y-you still have it?” I question, tears in my eyes again. “In your pocket?”
“This ring has stayed in my pocket.” He smiles up at me, and his heart is inside his eyes. “Because you’ve always stayed in my heart.”
I hold my hand out toward him, my body vibrating with the kind of love that I could only ever feel for this man. “I love you,” I tell him again. “I love you so much.”
“I love you always.” He slides the ring on my finger and doesn’t waste any time after that. Rising to his feet, Clay pulls me back into his arms and maneuvers my body so that he’s carrying me in a firefighter’s hold.
If I weren’t so fixated on my husband, I’d probably notice the additional cheers and hoots and hollers coming from the people around us.
But how can I notice anything else but this man right now? The answer is simple—I can’t.
Out of the tent and straight to his truck, Clay doesn’t put me down until he ensures I’m buckled in the passenger seat. And when he skids into a parking spot in front of The Country Club, he turns into a madman, cutting the engine and hopping out of the driver’s seat before I can even unbuckle my seat belt.
Then he’s at my door, swinging it open and pulling me back into his arms and kicking the door shut with his shoe. And he doesn’t put me down again until we’re upstairs, inside his apartment, and he’s laying me down on the bed.
Mere days ago, we were in this exact same spot, ready to do the exact same thing.
But this time is different. This isn’t the tragic end. This is the beautiful beginning.
I roll onto my belly, and he unzips my bridesmaid’s dress, his hands a gentle caress down my spine. His movements aren’t rushed. They’re slow and steady because there’s no hurry.
We chose to stay.
By the time we’re both naked, I’m lying on my back, and Clay is down by my feet. He locks his eyes with mine as he proceeds to kiss my toes and then my feet and then my shins. He moves his mouth up my body, caressing every inch of my skin.
A delicious shiver runs up my spine when he pauses right between the apex of my thighs. And a moan spills from my lips when his mouth is right there, kissing me where I’m already wet and throbbing for him.
I slide my hands into his hair and my hips buck up toward his mouth when he starts to lick and suck, and the pleasure begins to build at the base of my spine. He doesn’t stop until stars dance behind my eyes and my body grows slack with pleasure.
And by the time his body is hovering over mine, his hard cock positioned at my entrance, the realization of how much I truly love this man floods my chest. Tears prick my eyes, and when he reverently slides himself inside me, they slip from my lids and down my cheeks.
“I love you so much,” I whisper, and he kisses my tears away.
“I love you, Josie. Always. Forever.”