Merry Ever After

Vonn Barlowe.

Last night.

I launched myself into a seated position and peered around the room. No underwear or socks or pants that didn’t belong here. No watch or phone or condom wrappers. No evidence that I’d spent the night sharing secrets and having wild sex with the punk rock god.

Had I dreamed the entire thing? I flopped back against my pillow. Was I imagining his scent on my sheets? The delicious soreness between my legs?

Another smell caught my attention. Coffee.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand, and I reached for it.

Michelle: Okay. I know I hit the eggnog pretty hard last night. But am I hallucinating or is there a sexy silver fox shoveling your driveway????

I bolted out of bed and whipped the curtain back from the window.

There in the midst of an official winter wonderland was Vonn in jeans, sunglasses, and a Henley with the sleeves pushed up, shoveling my driveway.

“Holy shit,” I whispered. It really had happened. I’d spent the most intimate night of my life with the man of my dreams.

I raced to the bathroom and quickly executed my routine, spending a few precious minutes on mascara, tinted lip gloss, and making my messy bun just right. I dressed at top speed while my mind raced through the events of the night before. Ending with Vonn’s confession about Tommy.

The scales weren’t balanced. He’d shared something so intimate with me that I felt like I still owed him.

Deciding not to overthink it, I grabbed the moleskin journal out of my nightstand drawer. I flipped it open to a page.

BECOMING

I was meant for more than this

Too much for one life to hold

Release the guilt and pain

For not being what they wanted

Feeling a little queasy reading my own words on the page, I closed the notebook, and I headed downstairs.

My side ached. My forehead head was sore. But my mood outweighed my physical conditio

n. I felt buoyant.

In the kitchen I poured myself a mug of coffee, noting that there was already a path shoveled from the back door to the barn. Shaking my head, I went to the front door. Betty dashed out when I opened it and raced to Vonn’s side. She gave a happy bark which he returned with a shovel of powdery snow that had her jumping in the air in delight.

He must have sensed me because he planted the shovel in the snow and turned to face me. “Morning, gorgeous.”

My insides turned to quivering mush.

“Morning. I see you didn’t miss your morning workout.”

He grinned and started toward me. That was I noticed two things: Michelle was plastered against her living room window, staring at us and Vonn’s SUV had been cleaned off.

“You have to go,” I guessed as he mounted the steps. Disappointment settled over me like a wet blanket.

Vonn took the mug from my hand, set it down, then dragged me in for a long, hard kiss.

His face and lips were cold from the winter air. But the rest of his body pumped off heat that had me snuggling into him.

When he pulled back, he ran a thumb across my cheek. “Runway will be clear in about half an hour,” he said.