Our bodies are wet, and we’re both gasping for breath. I pull back to look at her. “Are you okay?”
She puts her arms around my neck. “I’ve never been better.”
I laugh then, a carefree sound that I haven’t made in a very long time, and I roll to my back and pull her on top of me. “I could get used to this.”
She kisses my chest and rests her head under my chin. “Me too.”
9
Cora
I wake the next morning finding his side of the bed empty. Fear that he’s changed his mind about me or let his guilt come between us fills my gut, and I wrap myself in a sheet before leaving the bedroom to search the apartment for him.
I find him pouring coffee into two mugs that are situated on a breakfast tray on the kitchen counter. He’s on the phone. “Yeah, Cole, you were right,” he’s saying. I recognize the name from when Jason used to talk about the team he worked with. “Yes, that’s what I said. You were right, I should’ve gone after her as soon as I talked with you about her before. She’s so much more than I deserve but fuck, I can’t let her go. I really just wanted to thank you for talking to me before because without you giving me that push, I wouldn’t be where I’m at, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
He spots me watching him, and his handsome face smiles at me, making me feel silly for doubting him.
He wraps up his phone call and pulls me on to his lap at the kitchen table. He kisses me and pulls away the sheet that is wrapped around my body. “I love you, Cora, and I’m going to apologize now.”
I run my hands across his chest. “Apologize for what?”
He smiles against my lips. “For letting the coffee get cold.”
“I don’t care about coffee. I don’t like waking up with you gone. I thought you’d left,” I admit.
Patton frames my face in his hands. “I’ve been lost for a long time. Not belonging anywhere. With you, last night I finally felt like I was home, and that was because I was with you. You don’t have to worry about me ever leaving, Cora. I’m not going anywhere. I love you.”
His lips on my neck feel so good I struggle to keep a coherent thought, and I send up a silent prayer for the man, Cole, who gave Patton the push that led to me getting to be in the arms of the only man I’ll ever love.
Epilogue
Patton
Less than a year later
I still can’t believe this is my life.
Cora nudges me in the waist. “Relax... it’s going to be fine.”
I take a deep breath and nod my head. I pull her into my arms and breathe her in. That always seems to calm me. “I know you’re right. I still get nervous seeing the guys again.”
She gives me the look. I know exactly what it means when she gives it to me. She thinks I’m too hard on myself, that I’ve shouldered the blame long enough, and I need to let it go. Most days I do, especially now that I have her. She keeps all my hard thoughts away. But sometimes when I least expect it, a memory of that day worms itself into my head, and a feeling of despair washes over me.
She holds me tight and puts her chin on my chest to look up at me. “What do you need?”
“You. Just you.”
She smiles at me and kisses my shirt-covered chest. “You got it.”
I lean down to kiss her just as the doorbell rings. I stop midmotion but not Cora. She smiles so big it lights up the whole damn room. “They’re here!”
I nod as she kisses me quickly and then goes to answer the door. The commotion starts all at once. First comes Cole and Hope holding their baby, CJ. Cora oohs and ahhs over the baby as I make my way to Cole and pull him in for a hug. I don’t even try to act cool about it. After all we’ve been through together, I’ll always hug him and Jeremy both.
Next comes Jeremy and Peggy, followed by their teenage twins. I can’t get over the transformation on Jeremy. The last time I’d seen him he had given up all hope for his future, but the way he’s holding Peggy’s hand, I know they’ve found their way back to each other.
“Okay, so food will be ready in a little while. I thought we could all hang outside by the pool and talk until then.”
The group moves on, and when I reach Jeremy, Peggy squeezes his hand before letting go. I hug Peggy and lean down to hug Jeremy in his chair. “It’s good to see you, brother.”