She smiled up at me. “I don’t want to rush things either,” she said. “I’ve missed you.” She pushed herself up and kissed me and then allowed me to lay her back down on the floor. I reached my hand between her legs and began to rub her. She was very wet, so my fingers slid easily around the most sexually sensitive parts of her body. She arched her back and moaned. I went as slowly as I could while still giving her pleasure, that way I could ensure her orgasm would last a long time.
And it did.
She moaned louder and louder and clawed at my back, until finally, her body shivered with climax and her muscles went from tensed, to relaxed, as she came down the other side of the orgasm. Then, she locked eyes with me and wrapped her legs around my waist. She pulled me close and whispered in my ear, “I love you,” right as I entered her.
We gasped at the shared sensation of connecting in this way, and I moved with care. I kissed her as I slid in and out of her, and she began to breathe heavily again. We reveled in the feeling of one another, and I switched between wanting to kiss her and wanting to look at her. I didn’t know what brought me more pleasure, the feeling of her lips pressed against mine or looking at her stunning face. I was torn, but eventually, I opted for kissing her, knowing that there were going to be a lot more chances to look at her in the future.
A lifetime of chances, or so I hoped.
Our lips locked, she circled her tongue around mine, and I finished. I stayed inside her for a few seconds afterward, moving around gently as she smiled up at me.
“I can’t wait to do that again,” I said.
She laughed. “Me too. It’s too bad you’re going on a camping trip this weekend, otherwise, I was going to say we could keep it up all night.”
I laughed. “If you think I’m going on a camping trip with my brothers instead of spending all weekend in bed with you, you’re crazy.”
“You shouldn’t miss it,” she said. “I know those trips are really important to you.”
I bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “There will be plenty of time for those trips in the future,” I said.
“What about work?” she asked, looking confused.
“What about it?” I smiled and kissed her again. “Let’s not talk about work right now, okay?”
“Then what do you want to talk about?”
I grinned. “How about baby names?”
She laughed and I laughed along with her, feeling the pure, unadulterated delight that comes with knowing you’re the luckiest man in the world.
* * *
My brothers understood why I decided to stay back in San Francisco, and I was glad they went camping without me. When they got back Sunday night, I had dinner with them and heard that they had a wonderful time. I also had a wonderful time spending the whole weekend with Lily at my place. Rica was there too, and naturally, the two of them got along swimmingly.
We spent much of that time in bed with one another, but the few times we managed to pluck up the energy to get out from between the sheets, we took the dog for a walk, ate good food, and planned our trip to Hawaii.
It had been my idea, and Lily wasn’t hard to convince. Originally, I suggested we go out to the wilderness somewhere, but then Lily reminded me she was pregnant and suffering from morning sickness and body aches, and I realized now wasn’t the best time to get her into backpacking. Instead, I suggested we go someplace relaxing, with a beach and a spa, and her face lit up. She said we should go back to the place where we met, and I immediately got online and started making arrangements.
Everything was pretty much all booked. We were set to leave on the following Wednesday and now it was Monday morning, and I was about to walk into a meeting with my father, my brothers, and the board to officially announce my resignation as CEO and suggest that my brother, Matt, be the one to take my place.
I had no idea how that meeting was going to go, but at least I knew that by the end of it, I would no longer be running the company. I would have the free time to get back to the things I liked to do, spend time with the woman I love, and to be there for my soon-to-be child.
It was a dream come true.
Shewas a dream come true, and I was going to spend the rest of my life making sure she knew that.
EPILOGUE: LILY
Six Months Later
“You’ve been at this for hours,” David said.
I hadn’t heard him come down the hallway, so I jumped a little at the sound of his voice. “I think it’s time to call it quits.”
“I just have one more balloon to blow up,” I said, sighing and sitting down on the couch. It was difficult, lowering my body down and up again seven months into my pregnancy, but thankfully, David was almost always there to lend a hand. He ran over and guided me down onto the couch as I started blowing air into a red balloon. I was going for a rainbow effect, which meant I needed at least ten balloons for each color of the rainbow. David and I decided not to learn the sex of the baby beforehand, and since neither of us really liked the whole pink and blue thing—my favorite color had always been blue, and I knew plenty of men who didn’t hate pink—we thought it would be fun to just make the baby shower color scheme random and cheerful.
Everything else about our situation had been a little random, totally unplanned, and it had worked out well for us so far. And it felt good to let go of control, to forget about convention, and just do what made us feel good.