The plan was that I would pick Lake up, and then we’d head to his parents’ house to have dinner with the family. Except for Kale, who’s been in Paris for weeks and won’t be able to get away for a few more.
His career has exploded. He is the it man in the modeling world right now.
For Christmas, he sent me this poster of himself. He’s shirtless—of course—and it has his branch of the company plastered along the bottom of it: Your Fantasy. His name, Kale McCain, stretches along both sides of it. He signed it to me, saying something inappropriate and completely Kale.
I check my phone again, looking for any kind of text confirming that Lake is in. The flight status board says he is.
And when I look up from my phone, there he is, coming down the escalator.
Emotion instantly stings the back of my eyes, but more than that, happiness explodes in me. It erupts from every pore, putting a spring in my legs that launches me forward. The second Lake sees me, his face breaks out into a smile, and it’s a brilliant thing that could change the world.
He barely steps off the escalator before I launch myself at him.
His skin is real, his lips are real. The heat of him is real.
And he’s alive.
And I never want to part from him again.
My lips consume his and he drops his bag at his booted feet, his hands pressing into my lower back. My hands hold his face to my lips and his tongue has a reunion with mine.
Everyone around us starts clapping and cheering.
It’s a perfect scene, a country girl reunited with her soldier.
I lean back so I can see his face, my legs still firmly wrapped around his hips. I smile like a fool, and so does he.
“I love you,” I say. The words threaten to explode from me with their truth. “I love you so much, and I don’t ever want you to leave again. Promise me you’ll stay and just love me. Promise me that you’ll be mine. Forever.”
I lean forward and press my lips to his again, gently this time.
This is my soldier. This is my helping hand and partner. This is my man and my lover and my equal.
I’m going to marry this man someday. Maybe not tomorrow, or in the spring, or next summer. But someday. I’m going to marry this man, and I’m going to have his babies.
And I’m going to love him to the end of our days and beyond.
Because we’ve both swum to the depths of the darkness. And we’ve surfaced.
Together.
CATCH THE NEXT BOOK IN
THE McCAIN SAGA
PLAYING IT KALE
Coming January 20, 2014
Did you miss Drake and Kaylee’s story?
Or Sage and Julian’s?
Catch up now!
ALSO BY KEARY TAYLOR
THE McCAIN SAGA
Ever After Drake
Moments of Julian
Depths of Lake
Playing it Kale (January 20, 2014)
What I Didn’t Say
FALL OF ANGELS
Branded
Forsaken
Vindicated
Afterlife: the novelette companion to Vindicated
THE EDEN TRILOGY
The Bane
The Human
The Raid: an Eden short story
The Ashes: an Eden prequel
CONNECT WITH KEARY ONLINE AT
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
KEARYTAYLOR.COM
Keep up to date on everything Keary Taylor. Sign up for The Keary Post mailing list HERE.
KEARY TAYLOR grew up along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where she started creating imaginary worlds and daring characters who always fell in love. She now splits her time between a tiny island in the Pacific Northwest and Utah with her husband and their two children. She continues to have an overactive imagination that frequently keeps her up at night.
Please visit www.KearyTaylor.com to learn more about her and her writing process.