He touched my cheek. “I know how you can make it up to me.”
“How?”
“Don’t ever leave.”
I smiled and kissed him, wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into me. And when I broke away, I pressed my lips into his ear. “I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me.”
And he whispered back, “Forever.”
Cooper
I woke before her that morning, my eyes blinking open slowly, unsure whether or not I was dreaming.
I was wrapped around Maggie, my arm around her back and hand in her hair, our legs tangled together. But I didn’t move, not for a long time, just listened to her slow breathing, feeling her chest rise and fall against mine as I thought about everything that had happened, everything that had brought us here.
She was mine, and I’d never let her go again.
And then my thoughts jumped forward. I daydreamed about everything to come. Listed all of the things I wanted to show her. Pictured her standing in front of the Taj Mahal. Smiling at me from across a cafe table in Paris. Holding my hand on the streets of Istanbul.
I wanted to show her all of the things I’d seen, to experience it all with her. Through her.
I wanted to hold her hand for the rest of my life.
She stirred against me, untucked her arms and wrapped one around my ribs, slipping the other between my neck and the pillow. I squirmed, trying not to laugh when she buried her nose in my neck.
She chuckled and squeezed me. “Are you ticklish?”
“No.”
She shifted her nose, and a laugh shot out of me.
I backed away so I could see her. “Maybe a little.” I smoothed her hair and cupped the back of her head, kissing her forehead.
She sighed, opening her eyes sleepily when I propped my head on my hand.“I could sleep for days, I think.”
“It’s been a long couple of weeks.”
“It’s been a long year,” she added, “but I feel … I don’t know how to explain it. New. Like I walked outside and closed the door behind me, and now I’m looking out at the whole world.”
I smiled. “I missed you.”
“So much. I thought about you all day, every day.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “We should get out of bed.”
She groaned.
“Hamptons.”
That stopped her. “Just promise me we can lie in bed all day tomorrow, and I’m good.”
“I promise.”
“All right, then.” She pecked me on the lips and rolled away from me. I watched as the sheets fell away and she stepped into the beam of light from the window, illuminating her curly hair like a halo. I could barely breathe, and she looked back to catch me staring.
She smiled.
That smile was something I’d work for every day, forever.
Within an hour, we were showered and fed. Astrid had her suitcase sent over, and I’d packed some of her things in my duffle bag while she finished eating and straightened up the kitchen.
I smiled at her as I walked back into the kitchen. “Bobby’s downstairs.”
She wiped her hands on a towel. “Oh, good. Let me just grab my suitcase.”
“I already packed some stuff for you. Just grabbed the rest of your toiletries.”
She made a face. “What if you forgot something? Let me go check.” She walked past, but I grabbed her wrist, planting a kiss on her lips when she rebounded back into me.
I looked down at her, smiling, willing her with my words. “Trust me, Maggie.”
Her eyes went wide, open as they did sometimes, and she whispered, “I do, Cooper.”
“Good. Now, come on. Let’s not keep Bobby waiting.”
She chuckled. “All right. But you’d better have packed underwear.”
I winked and dragged her toward the door.
Her smile fell. “Oh, God. You didn’t, did you.”
“Guess we’ll see.”
We made our way downstairs and out the back where Bobby leaned on my black convertible Jaguar.
She stopped dead. “Where the hell did you get that?”
I raised an eyebrow, smiling. “Uh, a Jaguar dealership?”
“Obviously, but holy shit. I thought we were taking the Mercedes.”
“You thought I just had one car?” I asked, amused.
“Two. The Porsche.”
I hooked an arm around her neck and kissed her temple, whispering, “That’s my beach car. This is my real car.”
She laughed as I dragged her to the car and opened the door, closing it once she was tucked in, climbing in next to her like a dream. And I had to be dreaming, I thought as she smiled over at me.
I started the car, put on my sunglasses, and pulled away. Only in my dreams would I ever imagine that such a girl could love me just as much as I loved her.
Cooper
Maggie’s hand was wrapped around mine, nestled in her lap as we drove up the coast. We were in the last hour of the trip, the scenic stretch before we reached the Hamptons, and I glanced over at her, her hair flying, the Jaguar rumbling around us, top down, radio bumping. Her bare feet were on the dashboard, and she leaned back in the seat, face tilted toward the ocean, elbow propped on the door, chin in her hand.
I could have watched her for hours.
We wound around the coast, past the bay and the small neighborhoods, until we came to the driveway and pulled through the gate. The Hampton house was just as we’d left it — quiet and beautiful. The waves still crashed against the shore, the seagrass still waved in the breeze. Maggie still looked like she belonged there. But I was a different man.
We changed into swimsuits and walked the long, wooden path to the ocean. I chased her through the surf. I kissed her salty lips. I lay with her on the shore for hours in the sun, watching the clouds, watching her. Breathing and being.
We had every intention of driving into town to eat. But the moment we walked into the house, I turned around to find her standing still in the doorway, skin a shade darker against her white bikini and golden hair. The way she looked at me made me feel like a fool and a god. I could never be enough for her, but I could be her everything. And all I could do when she looked at me that way was to kiss her. Because words weren’t enough. They’d never be enough.
I took her in my arms and to my bed. I lay in her arms for hours and listened to her voice, to the sound of the ocean past the windows. We ate sandwiches in bed at eleven, and then I turned out the lights and took her in the moonlight. I gave myself to her completely. And when I fell asleep with her against my chest, I knew I’d never want another girl. I’d never love another girl. Not as long as I lived.
Maggie
I woke up that morning before the sun rose, watching Cooper sleep in the near dark. His lips were parted, chest rising and falling slowly, dark lashes against his cheeks. My eyes traced the line of his profile, resisting the urge to touch him, not wanting to ruin the perfection. He looked like a boy, a happy, peaceful boy.
He was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen, and he made me feel like Cinderella, it was true. He’d been to the ball. Met all the girls. And in the end, he chose me. He chose me even when I hurt him, even when I didn’t believe he was sincere. He chose me even when I said I didn’t want him, when I changed my mind and pushed him away. He waited, because he loved me. And I loved him.
I climbed out of bed gently and found our bag. It was too dark and quiet to dig too much, so I grabbed the first thing I found, pulling on his tailored shirt as I walked through the kitchen. The coffee pot and supplies were easy to find, and once I’d started it, I walked out onto the back patio to watch the sun rise.
It was a little chilly, but I didn’t mind, just leaned on a post on the patio with my eyes on the horizon, watching the water lap the sand and recede, listening to the steady rush of the waves, waiting for the sun.
I’d always been waiting on the sun, even when I thought I’d caught it with Jimmy. I knew now. I knew that Cooper was my sun, but I was his sun too. I didn’t need to orbit him, and he didn’t need to orbit me. We were a constellation, two stars connected as we moved through the heavens together, holding each other close with our own gravity.