I feel for Eli, as it must have been hard dealing with a person like her all these years. But I always try and look at the brighter side.
“You never know. Maybe you were meant to meet Kendra, because you were always meant to meet me.”
Eli’s smile is bright and genuine. “Well, that I can certainly live with.” We both giggle at the notion, before Eli reaches out his hand to thread his fingers through mine. He stares at them for a while before speaking.
“I don’t know what forces brought you to me, but I at least owe them a beer.”
My giggles erupt, his soft smile back causing my heart to pitter-patter.
“I have never been one for believing in fate,” he continues. “I just took each day as it came, went through the motions—even when I was unhappy the whole time. Since meeting you, I realize just how much I allowed myself to miss.”
His words spread a glowing warmth within me and cause happy tears to pool my eyes. “You know how unfair you are?” I ask, a slight chuckle leaving my lips. “You waltz around looking like you do and whispering sweet nothings into my ear and expect me not to go weak at the knees.”
Light dances in his eyes like he’s happy with my response. “I make you weak at the knees?”
An outrageous gasp slips out. “Oh, please. Millions of women all over the world have weak knees because of you. It’s amazing we can all keep standing.”
His head flies back with a beautiful sound of laughter as I gaze at him in awe. This is like every woman’s dream. I mean, picture the celebrity you crush on the most, and then imagine having said celebrity flirting with you in the same room. I think many would faint at the thought.
“You think too highly of me,” he replies once the laughter dies.
“And you are way too modest for the most famous star in Hollywood. But then again, I don’t think I would crush on you nearly as much if I didn’t think so highly of you.”
“And there’s me thinking my devilish good looks were enough,” he teases back.
“You and I both know that’s not how it works. Look at your darling wife, for example.”
His eyes twinkle back at me. “That’s the thing. I am looking at her, but it’s not her. I’m still having a hard time getting around that.”
I think about that for a moment. Throughout all this journey the past few weeks, I never considered how Eli felt with regards to having to see her face every day knowing it’s not really her.
“It must be difficult to comprehend it all. You spoke about forces bringing us together, but that’s something you only ever hear about in fairy tales.” Then a thought occurs to me that saddens me a little. “I wonder if we’ll have our fairytale ending.” Complete sadness surrounds me because in this moment, even though he’s here with me, not knowing what tomorrow may bring, I already miss him. “I feel like I’m being pushed and pulled in all sorts of directions, but the only route I want to go down is the one that leads to you.”
Eli’s determined eyes meet mine and before I know it, he’s pulling my chair nearer to him so that his leg is in between mine. A move that causes heat to simmer in my belly.
Once he has me captured, his intense stare hypnotizes me. “Whatever happens, we have the here and now and I wouldn’t change these past few weeks for anything. I feel it in my gut, my heart… you name it, that everything will be okay.” He grips my hand tighter. “It will be okay.”
“You know, you’ve taught me a lot these past few weeks.”
He quirks one eyebrow. “Really? How so?”
“My life was pretty boring until I met you. I thought I was happy, but it’s taken this… I don’t know… force to take me out of my situation and realize that I was just simply existing.”
“But how is it that I have taught you that?” he asks, inquisitively.
Knowing what I’m about to say to him has my heart rate kicking up a little with nerves. I also realize that if I don’t say it now, it may be too late.
“Because I never fully understood what it was like to be in love with someone until now.”
I swallow hard, my nerves getting the better of me. Is he going to think it’s too soon? Is he going to suspect it’s not love, but rather only the infatuation with my heartthrob crush that I’ve had for the last six years? I’m guessing I would think the latter if I were him. Having said that, we’ve been catapulted together through some force of nature none of us can understand, but what I can feel it telling me is… this is real. It may not seem real considering I’m inside another woman’s body, but it feels as real as Eli does right now, his hand still clasped in mine like he’s afraid I’ll slip and let go. What he doesn’t realize is, if I had my way, I would never let him go either.
Instead of the questioning frown I was after, Eli’s eyes sparkle with delight, his bright smile lighting up this whole dimly lit room.
“I’m so glad you told me that.”
“You are?” I ask, my breath coming away in huge relief.
“Of course,” he answers, reaching his hand up towards my hair and ever-so-lightly trailing it away from my face. “Because, Audrey Felicity Stone, I’m ever so crazy in love with you too.”