Escape With Me (Love With Me 1)

Until one.

Time moved in slow motion as the black SUV slowed and finally stopped at the curb. Cassie held her breath as the car door opened and a handsome man stepped out.

He still wore the suit he'd left in that morning. His hair was messy as if he'd run his hands through it a million times. His green eyes were sharp. His shoulders held tall with confidence.

Cassie's heart stuttered and almost failed. She hoped there was someone nearby that knew CPR because there was an excellent chance she was going to need it, especially if he turned her down. If he said no, her heart would stop in her chest forever.

His steps slowed as he approached her. He looked calm and professional. She was reasonably sure that despite the fact she'd checked her hair seventeen times and fixed her clothing twenty-eight times, that she looked a mess. She felt frazzled and out of control. She just hoped she didn't look it.

“Cassie?” His voice cracked slightly, the only indication that he might be as nervous as she was. He frowned slightly. “Where are we?”

“This is a private runway,” she explained. She held out two fluttering pieces of paper. “These are tickets. For us.”

He frowned slightly, his green eyes going to the tickets. Carefully, he took them and read them over. She watched his face, waiting for a reaction.

Slowly, so slowly that her heart nearly gave out, a smile started to appear. It started with just a twitch upward on one side and gradually spread across his mouth as it f

illed and grew until he was grinning at her.

“I think we should go to the Caribbean,” she announced. “I think you're right. I think it's the place that we're supposed to be. The place that we're supposed to stay. The place that's home.”

“Really?” His beautiful eyes came to hers, searching her face. “I don't want you to regret this. I want you to be happy.”

Cassie's heart melted around her ribs. She reached out, taking his hands in hers. They were warm and steady beneath her fingers. Just touching him made her breath catch with desire and emotion.

“Wyatt, I love you.” She looked up at him, her eyes wide and smile nervous. “I love you, and I want to be with you. If you think we can be happy in Antarctica, I will go there.”

“Antarctica?” He looked bemused.

“I'd need to pack different clothes, but I'd go.”

“You love me.” He smiled as he said it as if he could barely believe his luck.

Cassie nodded. “I was stuck on my old life, but you weren't a part of my old life. You're a part of my new life. And that's not here. We need to go to where we belong.”

“You love me,” he repeated, a little bit of awe in his voice.

She couldn't help but smile. “Yeah.”

He wrapped her up in his arms, his fingers sliding into her hair as he pulled her into a kiss. He kissed her with an intensity that told her his emotions better than his words ever could. His embrace told her that he needed her as much as she needed him.

“I love you, too,” he whispered, holding her into him as if she might disappear in a puff of smoke. “So, so very much.”

Cassie's heart sang. Her body thrilled, and she felt like laughing and crying at the same time. She felt like she could fly. She wanted to dance and sing, shout and explode, jump and clap all at the same time.

She kissed him, emotion overwhelming her completely. Wyatt held her, the two of them laughing and crying.

Soon they'd be escaping to the Caribbean to start their new lives.

Epilogue

Wyatt

Wyatt stepped out onto the deck of his new boat and stretched in the morning sun.

Life had never been this good.

Wyatt couldn't imagine how he'd once thought being a bartender had ever been enough. He couldn't believe that he'd ever been happy without Cassie.