“I just said I felt something good,” I protest with a laugh. “Do you think it means I never want to see you again?”
“I don’t know. You were using the past tense.”
“You really are a dork.” I close the distance between us cautiously. Wade doesn’t move. I slowly reach out and wrap my hand around his. It’s warm, and mine are still cold from the terrible walk Leanne dragged me out on. “The cake does look good. We should have a piece.”
“Is that a yes? Because I’m confused here. I don’t want to misread anything…”
“It’s definitely a yes. I want to see where this goes. I like you, Wade. I liked you then, and I like you now. Thank you for coming back and rescuing me when I couldn’t do it myself. I missed you. I missed you a lot, and I thought about you all the time. I even wrote characters in my stories based on you.”
“Christ. I hope they were complimentary.”
“They were.” I give his hand a squeeze. “If we take things slow and get to know each other, really get to know each other, and we have patience and work through everything, I think we could have something special. I would like to work towards that. I’m sorry I couldn’t see past everything else before.”
“Sometimes, we need time. I needed time to figure things out too. Not about you. I always knew I was into you. I thought about you all the time too. I guess I needed time to figure out how to tell you that. And how to get myself from where I was to where I want to be and even what that was. Is.”
I take Wade’s other hand and smile up at him. Into the face that I’ve missed so much. I can’t believe he’s here. I can’t believe he wants to do this with me—the future stuff. Life stuff. Romantic stuff.
“One more thing. You said I could have anyone. But I don’t want just anyone. I want you, Lu-Anne. I only want you.”
Those words make my head spin, and I have to come up with something fast or risk tearing up and blubbering all over the place. I think fast. The cake. Talk about the cake. I can’t stop thinking about him, though. So what comes out is the best of both.
“Let me taste you first before I taste the cake. I’m sure it has nothing on you.”
“I don’t know. I got it from a pretty reputable bakery and—”
I step up on my tiptoes, cup Wade’s face, and drag it down to mine. He doesn’t resist. The second our lips meet, it feels like coming home. It feels like slipping on a nice pair of flip flops after killing your feet in high heels all day. It feels like coming home and stripping off the uncomfortable as shit bra that’s been gouging you in all the wrong spots for hours. It feels like a nice hot, relaxing bath. In essence, it feels pretty darn amazing.
I don’t have to consider being in Wade’s life or having him in mine. He never truly left my heart, and I’m too far gone to consider anything. He’s been here with me, even when he wasn’t. I guess I’ll have to thank Leanne later for all her meddling. Sort of meddling? Whatever she did, I owe her. She was looking out for me when I needed it most.
We kiss until we’re breathless, then we both step back, grinning like fools.
I’m not sure if six months ago was our official start, or if it’s now, but I’m just so glad that whatever or whenever it was, it happened, and we’re here now. Come to think of it; it was the spider that brought us together the night I ended up on his doorstep for the first time.
Wherever he or she is, I hope the hairy little bastard is safe and thriving. Outdoors. Maybe the donation to the spider foundation was perfect, after all. It was certainly fitting. I can’t think of a single donation that could be more us.
EPILOGUE
Wade
What can I say? Life is good. No, that’s too corny sounding. Life is great. Three years later, our business is thriving. I don’t say mine because it’s not just mine. I might have put things into motion, but the business belongs to all the volunteers, employees, specialists, and everyone else who work tirelessly to make what we do happen.
“I can’t find Sarah-Jane’s shoes!” Lu-Anne rushes into the bedroom, where I’m just throwing on a sweater, and she’s frantic and wild-eyed. “How can we go for Christmas at your parents’ house without her shoes? How can one kid lose like every single pair of shoes she owns?”
With Sarah-Jane, it’s possible. The girl came out running like it’s a joke she played on us. She’s a gorgeous, busy two years old. She was initially a bit of a surprise, but she was the world’s best surprise, and Lu-Anne and I were overjoyed when we found out we were pregnant, even if it did happen quickly. I think we both knew from that day in her dining room with the spider cake that we were it for each other. Actually, I think I knew from the second I saw her, but I’m calling that day the day we made things official.