"You're not, Val." He touched my back and kissed my shoulder.
"I know I'm not now, but there are times when I see both of them coming out in my actions and the way I want to treat people." I shivered at the thought. "I want to be the kind of woman that gives encouragement and offers hope. You know?"
"Of course, I do. You've offered me hope." He moved back to work on his breakfast. "I honestly thought I would be a bachelor forever. I wanted a woman just like you, but what hottie-tottie woman would ever date a guy like me? That chick would have to be coo-coo-crazy."
I swatted at him and smiled. "Just let them see your cock. They'll come running in large hordes."
He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "You're too much."
"Oh, yeah?" I turned to face him and brushed my knee by his thigh. "But you like it?"
"I love it." He pinned me with a hard stare. "I heard what your told you mother last night at the party."
"Which part? I said a lot of stuff to her, most that I'm not proud about." I picked up the last piece of bacon and wagged it between us. "You want this or are you willing to sacrifice it in the name of love?"
He rolled his eyes. "Eat it. I like chunky women, remember?"
I let out a yelp and tossed it back on the plate as he belly laughed loudly. The sound of it was something to behold, and I knew that I could hear it a million times and never grow tired of it.
"What part are you talking about in my conversation with my mom?" I reached over and ran my hand down his back slowly as I pressed my chest to his arm and my lips to the side of his neck.
"The part where you told her that you weren't interested in Kade. You said that you were already in love with someone else." He looked over at me, his face so close that it wouldn't have taken much to capture his lips with mine.
"And?" I brushed my mouth over his shoulder as I watched his expression grow lusty.
"And, was it true? Are you in love?" He touched the side of my face and turned to pull me to a standing position between his legs. "I wanna know."
"What do I get if I tell you?" I pressed my body against his and ran my nose along his before kissing him a few times.
"Me. All of me. Forever." He captured my face with his strong hands as he watched me intently. "Were you just saying that to shut her up or did you mean it?"
"I meant every word of it." I pushed against his hold and wrapped my arms around his thick neck as I tilted my head and kissed him with every bit of passion I had inside of me.
He gave into the kiss and sucked and licked at my mouth until we were both out of breath.
He pulled back and licked at his lips. "You know my life isn't easy."
"Yeah, because mine is." I smiled and glanced down at his lips before moving my gaze to rest on his warm brown eyes. They were the first thing that captivated me about him that night that seemed so long ago, but wasn't.
"I think we make a good pair. We're the best of two worlds." He brushed his thumb over my lips. "You being a humble rich girl and me being a poor boy with dreams."
"I like that a lot. Let's live your dreams, hmm?" I leaned in for another kiss, loving him more than I should after the short amount of time we'd been together. It wasn't a shallow affection that would soon fade, but a deep gratefulness that he was willing to help me see a much different world around me and appreciate the diversity of who we were in it.
"You are my dream. Now what?" He smiled and pulled me down for a long make out session. I didn't need to know what was happening next. I was in the arms of the man of my dreams.
Next could never come for all I cared.
Epilogue
Eighteen Months Later
Val
"Oh my God, can you believe it's graduation day?" Lucinda danced around in the line in front of me until a professor with a sour expression barked at her to get back in line and stay still.
I laughed and glanced back at the guy. "Someone peed in his Cheerios this morning."
"Right? Jeez." She got in line, but turned to face me instead of the front. "Let me see the ring again."