I smiled. “You and me both. But it’s the only place I want you to be. Come live with me here, Rae. I want to go to bed with you every night. Wake up to you.” Before she could say no, I added. “It’s a short commute to work.”
“Not as short as the one I have now.”
Giving her a look I knew she couldn’t resist, I said, “I’ll make the extra distance worth your while.”
Massaging her buttocks with both hands, already growing hard again, I said, “How about we move this inside? We can talk about that horizontal tasting idea you had in your new bed.”
“Hmm,” she pretended to think about it but was already grinning. “What if I show you instead. Inournew bed?”
“Sounds like a good plan.”
“Certainly better than avoiding you like the plague. That was my original goal when I got here.”
“Mmm, well. I’m glad that didn’t work out for you.”
“So am I,” she said, leaning down to kiss me before standing up. Rae reached out her hand. I lifted my shorts but didn’t bother buttoning them.
And gladly took the hand of the woman I loved.
epilogue
RAE
“I’msorry I missed your brother.”
My father followed me down to the lake as leaves crunched beneath our feet. I’d decided October was my new favorite month up here. The summer had a lot to recommend it, but sweater weather on the lake was next-level gorgeous.
“He and Mom were only here for the weekend,” I said, “but I think they had a good time.”
“For two non-wine drinkers.”
“Exactly.” My brother was more of a beer guy and had spent a good portion of the weekend at Marco’s. I’d teased him for fraternizing with the competition until Dennis reminded me I literally lived with the competition.
“We found a few really sweet wines Mom tried, but for the most part it wasn’t really her thing. But it was still really good to see her.”
“Thanks for inviting me up,” my father said for the hundredth time. I had a long talk with my mom and brother about him. What dad had done to our family. What he’d done since. Realizing that I still had more resentment than my own mother, who dealt with the brunt of their divorce fallout, helped make this very moment happen.
“It is yours,” I said.
My father stopped just as I was about to show him the path. “It’s not, Rae. It’s been yours for over a month.”
“I know but—”
“No buts. Just because it was a gift doesn’t diminish what you’ve accomplished here. I have the money and chose to spend it on you. Period. End of story. There are no strings.”
“I know you say that.”
“It’s true. I know it doesn’t make up for what I did. Nothing can, Rae. I need you to understand that I realize that.”
Truth was, I thought he really did. Even so, I wanted to rail at him even now. ‘Then why did you do it?’ But I’d asked that question a million times, and the answer hadn’t changed. He hadn’t been thinking straight. He was stupid. Immature. Selfish. Dad had owned up to all of it, but the facts still stayed the same.
Still, he’d been trying. The least I could do was meet him halfway for giving me a literal dream career. Not to mention Marco. If it weren’t for my father’s acquisition of Sunset, this would be the last place in the world I’d have landed.
“I do.”
“Good. Then you’ll let me help with the other half?” he asked as we began to walk again.
“Dad,” I hedged. “Don’t start.”