Teacher's Pet

I blinked and stopped breathing, and then gasped for air. Corsica was either a mirage come to life or I had somehow gotten my wish. I wanted to talk to her face to face, and there she was.

I stood up, though my mother tried to stop me. The gravitational pull of Corsica in that spotlight was too strong. I had to be near her. I had to know she was real. I walked through the tables scattered around the small stage until I was standing directly in front of her.

She saw me and kept singing, each note drumming all of my doubts away.

I loved Corsica. That was it. That was all I could think and when the song ended and the whole restaurant paused to hear me address the angel in the spotlight, that was all I said.

"I love you."

Corsica apologized to her band and stepped down to face me.

I didn't even give her a chance to speak; the words tumbled out of me. "I love you, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"So where have you been?" she asked, her eyes bright.

"It doesn't matter," I said, taking her hands. "Everywhere I go just leads back to you."

Then she smiled. "Ah, now we're getting somewhere."

Chapter Twenty-One

Epilogue

I ran down the beach as fast as I could, but even the punishing pace couldn't burn away the joy I felt. The beach house was more than my finish line. It was my home.

"What's your hurry?" Penn called from the deck. "Now that you're done with your morning run, we're going back to bed, right?"

I laughed despite my heavy breathing. "I thought you wanted to sleep in."

"Only with you." He caught me as soon as I stepped on the deck.

"Stop! I'm all sweaty!"

He nuzzled my neck and growled deep in his throat. "And you taste delicious."

"No, really stop. We have to get ready. Today's the big day," I reminded him.

Penn didn't stop until his kisses made me lose track of all time. Then he leaned back and beamed down at me. "We can be late, can't we?"

I shook my head, though I was too content to leave his arms. "The ceremony can't start until we're there."

"I can't wait to walk you down the aisle," Penn said with another hungry kiss.

This time I did push him back, the bright ring on my finger glinting in the morning sun. "That's not until April. Today is all about your parents."

"Today is all about love, as my mother keeps reminding me. Surely, she'll understand if love is what makes us late."

I couldn't resist Penn any longer. I distracted him with a kiss and then lunged for the sliding glass door. "I'll race you to the shower."

He caught me halfway through the kitchen and I was overjoyed when those hard, tattooed arms closed around me. I looked up at him and wondered again how lucky I was.

Once we were done with assumptions, it was just us, and we were so very happy.

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