And Then There Was Her (And The There Was 1)

I was afraid still, of course, but I knew because this felt so scary, it was real. It had to be. But just because this scared me didn’t mean I’d allow myself to hide any longer.

The sound of Oliver shifting on the bed had me looking through the balcony doors at where he was. He sat up, ran a hand over his hair, and immediately started looking around. I could see the panic on his face in the darkened room, and my heart broke that in that one moment, he thought I left him again.

“I’m out here,” I said softly, and he snapped his head in my direction. That panic left as his face eased, and he heaved a sigh.

He got up and grabbed his boxers that were on the floor, slipping them on, then walking toward me. Oliver sat beside me, smiled, and as I stared into his face, I knew everything would be okay and that everything would fall into place.

Everything would work out, because it had to. We’d make sure of it.

“Come here, baby,” he said low, softly.

I stood and moved closer to him, and he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me onto his lap. He draped the blanket over both of us and just held me.

We stayed like that in silence for long moments, watching the sun rise, watching the city come alive. Our silence was comforting.

“I love you, Adele,” he whispered against my temple, and I sighed in contentment. “I really do.”

“I know,” I responded and shifted so I could look into his face. “I love you too. No more fighting it. I just want you.”

He pulled me tighter against his chest and kissed the side of my head once more. “This is just the beginning, and it’ll be incredible.”

Yeah, I couldn’t agree more.

12

Oliver

I was exhausted, but I was afraid to close my eyes, afraid I’d wake up and she wouldn’t be here. We’d come back in from the balcony half an hour ago, but I refused to sleep. I didn’t want to sleep and waste a moment I had with her.

I tightened my hold on her and felt Adele snuggle in closer. I closed my eyes and smiled against the crown of her head. Now that I actually had her back in my arms, it all felt like a dream. A delirious, sleep-deprived dream that I never wanted to wake up from.

If I died right now, I would be content, happy. I would’ve fulfilled the most important thing in my life… being with Adele again.

“Isn’t it crazy?” she whispered sleepily against my chest.

I pushed some of her braids over her shoulder and trailed my fingers along the curve of her neck, over her delicate shoulder, and down her arm. I watched as goose bumps formed along her skin. I loved that she was so receptive to my touch.

I inhaled deeply and took in her scent and was really fucking pleased that mine mingled with hers. She was mine now, marked, claimed like I was some kind of ferocious beast, like she was a princess locked away in a tower, and I was the one keeping her hostage, never letting her go.

“What’s crazy, baby?”

I felt her shift, and then she was tipping her head back and looking at me. I smoothed my fingers along her forehead, down her temple, and along her jawline. Her skin was so smooth. Flawless. Everything about her was perfect.

This was what it felt like to find The One.

“That I can feel this way about you, and you can feel the same way about me, and we know virtually nothing about each other.”

I didn’t say anything, not because I was speechless, but because I wanted to say it just right, so she knew without a doubt what I meant was genuine and true.

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” I leaned down and kissed the center of her forehead. “I am a thirty-five-year-old construction foreman who never thought he’d find someone who completed him. I never thought about marriage or children, a future with a white picket fence and a dog.” I was just letting it all out, opening my heart even more. “But then I saw you on that stage. I heard your voice, and I fell in love with a twenty-seven-year-old singing angel.” We talked for a hours before we finally fell asleep last night, so I now knew some bits of information about the woman of my fantasies.

I stared into her dark eyes. What I told her was the truth, and I expected her to be apprehensive on how real it was. Instead I heard her sigh in contentment.

“Adele Lily Smith, I’d marry you right here and now. That’s how badly my love for you consumes me.”

I saw the surprise on her face, but she didn’t look like she wanted to run, didn’t look like I scared the shit out of her. I didn’t want to keep things from her no matter how much saying that frightened me.

And then she smiled with this dreamy expression on her face. “Oliver Luke Callim, I love you just as much. So much it makes my chest hurt. I’d marry you right here on the spot.”