“Apparently so.”
“That’s kind of odd, isn’t it? Basically your wife, who’s been gone four years, is responsible for us getting together, then.”
“That’s not the oddest part.”
“What do you mean?”
“There were other articles in the folder, too. Written by you. They dated back to when you first started with the magazine, or close to it. Apparently Amanda had saved all of them.”
“Wow.” Sadie shook her head. “That’s . . . I can’t believe that.”
I don’t know what I’d been looking for, but I watched Sadie’s face closely. She was genuinely surprised. Maybe even more shocked than I’d been yesterday.
“Just my articles? Or other writers’, too?”
“Just yours. Years’ worth of them.”
Her brows knitted together. “I don’t understand. You mean she was a fan of mine?”
I sipped my coffee. “I guess so. Do you get a lot of those? Fans who collect your articles?”
“I have gotten some fan letters over the years. People who say they’ve followed my articles in the magazine and stuff. But that’s just a freaky coincidence, isn’t it?”
“That’s what I thought.”
We both sat quietly for a while, mulling it over. Eventually, Sadie spoke. “So your wife read all my articles and kept them in a folder. Birdie found that folder, which in turn made her write to me. My impersonating Santa led me to your door. Where I happened to find a little butterfly barrette that caused me to then impersonate Gretchen. We also both lost someone we loved to the same type of cancer.” She shook her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of fate opening so many doors to make things happen before.”
I smiled. She was right. It was fate. I felt like an idiot now. While I hadn’t suspected anything in particular, I’d just had a terrible feeling that something was working against me, instead of accepting it for the gift that it is. But maybe that was because of my track record. Every time Amanda and I had been happy, something happened. I’d learned to wait for the other shoe to drop. I needed to stop doing that shit and enjoy what I had, no matter how it came my way.
Reaching over the table, I took Sadie’s hand. “I had another act of fate happen today.”
“Oh my Lord, what now?”
“When I picked up Melissa, the little curly-haired blonde we brought with us, her mother asked if Birdie wanted to go apple picking upstate with them tomorrow. There’s no school, since it’s Veteran’s Day.”
Sadie’s brows drew together. “Well, that’s nice. But I’m not sure how that’s fate. Unless you mean that Birdie and I are both off for the holiday tomorrow.”
I shook my head and grinned. “Nope. They’re driving three hours upstate. Fate is that they’re leaving at six in the morning to beat traffic.”
“Okay . . . I’m still missing the fate here.”
“Because they’re leaving so early, Melissa’s mom asked if Birdie could sleep over tonight. Which means I’m alone for almost twenty-four hours.”
Sadie’s eyes lit up. “Oh wow. That does sound like fate.” She grinned. “But what will you do with that much time on your hands?”
I reached out for the bottom of Sadie’s chair and dragged it closer to me. “You. I’m going to do you . . . over and over again.”CHAPTER 24
SADIE
With the house all to ourselves that Monday morning, we’d definitely gotten carried away fast. I kept expecting that maybe Sebastian would pull out of me to get a condom on at some point, but he never did. He knew I was on the pill, so it wasn’t a big deal, but he’d always been diligent about the extra protection every time we’d been together.
But having him inside me with no barrier felt incredibly good. The feeling was so intense that I could feel myself coming much faster than I’d anticipated. Our bodies just seemed to be in sync because as soon as I started to orgasm, I felt him quake. We rocked together as our orgasms shot through us simultaneously. There was nothing more beautiful than the guttural sound Sebastian made when he climaxed. I felt it vibrate throughout my entire body.
“Sebastian,” I called out over and over as he came inside me. “Sebastian . . .”
It was the best sex we’d had thus far. I wasn’t sure if it was because we’d grown that much closer recently or what. I just knew I’d never felt more connected to a man in my entire life.
He rested his head inside the crook of my neck. “I’m sorry. That felt too good. I should’ve stopped it.”
Reaching down and squeezing his ass, I said, “It’s okay. I’m on the pill.”
He let out a relieved breath. “I know. But I’ve never been irresponsible like that. You just make me a little crazy, Sadie.”
“I’ve got you.” I smiled.
He looked into my eyes and said, “Yeah. You definitely do . . . have me.”