The waiter chose that moment to deliver our bill, which Shaw scooped up and promptly paid.
“Are you ready to go?”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t ready for our night to be over.
When we got in his truck, I summoned my courage. “Would you like to come over?”
“If you’d like me to, yes.”
I wasn’t sure what had happened to him in that storm, but it seemed Shaw had turned over a new leaf. Gone was the demanding, cocky man he’d retreated into in his darkest days. Now he seemed open and humble, and was watching me with a careful curiosity like he was scared I might run off at any moment.
When we got to my place, we removed our shoes and sat down on my bed. I felt like an awkward, nervous teenager, unsure of what was going to happen, until Shaw took my hand and kissed the back of it.
“Nothing is going to happen that you don’t want to.”
I nodded, my heart filled with anticipation. “Okay.”
“And before anything else happens, I need you to know what you mean to me.”
I waited while he composed his thoughts. Still holding my hand, Shaw brushed his fingertips along my skin, creating warm pressure where he touched me.
“When we started out, it was because I wanted you, but it’s more now. It’s a need. This desperate need that claws at me. I wake up needing you. I come home needing you. I go to bed and all I need is you.”
“Shaw . . .” My voice broke. His words melted me. They were exactly what I’d longed to hear for months. “I feel the exact same way. When you’re not with me, I worry, I miss you . . . I wonder if you’ve eaten, and how you’re doing alone in that house.”
He nodded, bringing my hand to his lips once again and kissing it. “I know. I miss you too. Having you on Wednesdays to mask the pain isn’t nearly enough. And I’m done fucking around here. You’re mine now. Every part of you. As long as you want that too . . .”
Tears rolled down my cheeks and I murmured his name again.
“Is that a yes?”
“Of course it’s a yes,” I cried. “I love you.”
“Good, because I love you more.”
That night, Shaw took me to bed, slowly stripping away each article of my clothing and his until we were bared to each other—skin to skin.
He took his time, kissing and worshipping my body from head to toe until I was a writhing, needy mess. And right before he entered me, he stopped and met my eyes.
“I love you, Chloe. You’re mine now.”
“I always have been,” I reminded him and lifted my hips to take him.
His sigh of ecstasy vibrated through me as our bodies joined. We made love slowly, his lips on my neck, his fingers in my hair, his rough voice murmuring my name. And when we finished in a symphony of cries, he spooned his big body around mine. We lay there intertwined as our heart rates slowed.
Everything about tonight had been perfect, but I had a feeling that our biggest obstacle as a couple lay ahead.
• • •
We’d brought all of our friends together for an outdoor barbecue lunch today at the inn to share our news. It had only been three days since we officially started dating, but Shaw didn’t want to waste any more time.
If we expected everyone to be stunned—or worse—we were dead wrong. As Shaw announced that we were dating, Jason just looked at us with a knowing smile while Courtney and Lynne grinned from ear to ear. A couple of the guys who worked for Shaw, who were also some of his closest friends since he spent so much time with them, were giving us a no shit look. Apparently, a scandal this was not. Shaw’s friend Abe sat in a reclining chair in the shade, his smile wide and happy.
“Chloe’s always been there for me,” Shaw told them, “through all of life’s ups and downs, and this is no different, except I finally got my head out of my ass and started seeing her in a new light.”
“It makes perfect sense, you two together,” Courtney said.
My brother looked over at us and shook his head. “About fucking time you two realized it.” Then he locked eyes with Shaw. “Be good to my sister.”
“I will. Always, I promise,” Shaw said, his face serious.
“I know. That’s the strangest thing about all of this—I trust you,” Jason added.
They didn’t need to know we’d been fucking like rabbits for nine months. Some things were better left private. Though my brother looked like he might have suspected something all along, he stayed quiet and let us have our moment.
Now, feeling anxious about this moment seemed so silly. These people loved and cared for us, so of course they just wanted us to be happy. It wasn’t like I’d tempted him away from a happy marriage, or I was someone who came out of the woodwork to trick a grieving widower. I’d loved Shaw my entire life.
And now, through circumstances and fate, I’d have the chance to love him in a new way. It was an honor I wouldn’t take for granted. It had been a bumpy journey, but now that we were together, really together, all the heartache and confusion over the past several months felt worth it.
Shaw pulled me close to his side and put his arm around my waist. I still wasn’t used to his warm affections that weren’t sexual, and I definitely wasn’t used to them happening in front of other people. As natural as it all felt, it would take some getting used to.
“Let’s eat. I’m starved,” Courtney said, grabbing the platter of barbecue chicken my brother had spent the last hour grilling. Everyone made their way to the two picnic tables that were already set with colorful paper plates and utensils.