“Sure, sure. Honestly, it doesn’t matter. You know why? Because now I’ve been initiated.” I tossed the men a pleased smile.
“Oh yeah, you’re in,” Damian said, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “My girlfriend deserves to be in the circle.”
“One would hope,” I teased.
“What’s going on over here?” Kendra poked her head into our gathering, but Legs’s pant leg had already dropped. She’d missed the show.
“Just chatting,” I told her, “and reveling in the fact that I’ve finally been initiated into the Fairchild circle.”
“Someday soon it’ll be myfiancéewho’s in the circle,” Damian murmured into my ear. Happiness snaked through me, slow and prickly.
“Don’t go whispering sweet nothings in front of everyone,” I chided Damian jokingly.
“Yeah, that’s not fair to the rest of us sad, single people,” Trace teased.
“Oh, you don’t have anyone?” Kendra piped up, stepping closer to him.
“Trace hasn’t had a single date since I got to New York,” I said.
“He doesn’t date,” Damian corrected.
“Have you ever? Isn’t there at least one who got away?” I asked.
Trace smiled, but it looked more like a grimace. He contemplated a spot in the distance, unknowable to everyone but him. “Yes, I’ve dated. And yes, there is one who got away.”
“Oooh, tell us more,” Kendra said, batting her eyes at him.
“Do you know who it is?” I asked Legs, who shook his head.
“That’s all you’ll get from me,” Trace said, looking around. “Now where’s the bar?”
“At least tell us where she lives,” I said. “Is it someone in the city?”
Trace seemed to be weighing his words. And then he said, “She’s in Louisville. And now thatisthe last you’re getting from me. Who needs a drink?”
Kendra and I shared an intrigued look before rattling off our drink orders. Damian had started tugging me away from the conversation and crowd, inviting me to step back and take it all in.
“You know how amazing you are, right?” he asked me, pushing his fingertips along my jawline.
“I don’t know aboutamazing,” I answered shyly.
“Just your daily reminder.” He pressed a soft kiss to my lips, the kind that confirmed every fantasy and sealed every hope. The type of kiss I’d never tire of, from the one man I’d always loved. “You know how much I love you, right?”
I giggled, tipping my head. “Why don’t you tell me…”
“Crazily. Abundantly. Excessively.”
“I love you crazily, abundantly, excessively too, Damian Fairchild.” I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my forehead against his chest.
The feel of his arms around me was all I needed in this life. The solid foundation that grounded me. The security that pushed me take risks.
Damian acted as the roots of my autumn cherry tree. He made it safe for me to lay dormant and then bloom, to let out my fire and wild dreams. To allow this crazy, abundant, excessive love fill my heart.
Neither of us could say what the future had in store for us. But with Damian at my side, the details didn’t matter. I had the most important part of my future already.
EPILOGUE
TWOMONTHSLATER