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was dying to see Rage Against the Machine on their reunion tour.
RATM MENTIONEDD
“Oh, Ford, you idiot,” Willa whispers while looking up at me with slack-jawed amusement all over her face. “You are down so bad for that girl.”
Because no matter how much he infuriated me tonight, I’d be a fool not to recognize that the man kissing me right now would ride headfirst into battle with me. For me. He’d cut people down with his words. Scorch them with his glare. Humiliate them with his directness. And after everything this past month has held for me, that makes me long for him in a completely unfamiliar way.
I can see why people vie for his attention. It’s addictive. And I think I’ve been addicted to getting his attention since I was a kid. I’m only just realizing I’ve had it all along.
He wore the key to my diary for ten years.
“Because I spent all weekend tortured over you.” I spit the words out in frustration. “I was supposed to be having a great time, but all I could think about was you. I’ve been obsessed with you for years, and I don’t even know if I fully realized it. I’ve heard about you through the grapevine—looked you up online. I’ve gone a decade without laying eyes on you, satisfied that you were doing what you wanted to be doing. But it never felt like this weekend did.”
You’re stuck with me. Give me all that bitchy attitude. It just makes me love you more.”
Our eyes catch and something passes between us. Understanding. Agreement. We both know this is perfect. Him. Me. Us. Nothing has ever felt more right.
His hands roam slowly yet purposefully. Over my arms, my collarbones. Reading me like braille. I think he’s always been able to, and I just didn’t know it.
“What are you doing?” I breathe the words, trying to stay quiet as he comes to kneel between my splayed legs. “Taking care of you.”
If I could build you a boyfriend like a Build-A-Bear, he would come out as Ford Grant. That was it. The only thing he said. I wrote back, Weird, but thanks.
“I feel like a princess,” I murmur, watching the setting sun over the peaks of Emerald Lake. “You are one.”
“And who are you out with tonight? We’ll add it to the description.” Rosie goes stiff. I don’t know what she’s expecting me to say, but something tells me it’s not, “Oh, this is my girlfriend—Rosalie Belmont.”
It’s why I disappeared into the mountains. To Rose Hill. To Rosie. The only bright spot of the night is watching her work the room with such… aplomb. She smiles, and it’s genuine. She laughs, and it makes everyone nearby smile.
Needless to say, she glows, and everyone sees it. Everyone is drawn to her, just like they always have been. Rosie at a lake party. Rosie playing beach volleyball. Rosie hiking. Rosie at the fucking grocery store. I’ve watched her effortlessly draw attention for most of her life, and I’m not even sure she realizes how organically she does it.
need a man to talk abt me like this
“Hear this, Rosie. You are worth every penny. Every fortune. Every investment. Every risk. You are priceless to me.”
I spent a lot of time wondering why the boys in my life never felt an inclination to stand up for me, and now I’m face-to-face with a man who’s made it his mission to do it. Even in the throes of passionate argument he makes me feel more secure than I ever have before. It’s… overwhelming. It’s heart-rending. It’s safety.
A touch that makes me turn my head and whisper what I’ve known for some time. “I love you, Ford.” He just nuzzles against me again and responds with a quiet, “I’ve always loved you, Rosie.”
She smells like the lilacs that grow down by the lake, and she feels like heaven. She feels like home. She feels like she’s finally mine.
“Rosie.” He breathes my name like it’s the air itself. Necessary. Integral to his survival.
“I left all safe bets behind, Ford. I don’t want a safe relationship. I don’t want a safe love.” His eyes dance between mine, and I forge ahead. “I want messy and snarky and…” I peek back over my shoulder at the old barn, transformed into a new office, before turning my gaze back on him. “I want a wild love. I want you, even though you make me want to push you into the lake and break your computer and throw paint all over your pristine floors. I want this feeling I have with you where it hurts to breathe when you get too far away, where my skin itches uncontrollably when you look at me. Where
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“Wild Rose Records. After the girl I’ve always loved. But as my business partner, I need your input.”
“Yeah. Yes. Definitely. I definitely want to marry you. Very much.” He breathes out a laugh. “Thank god.” Then my fingers curl into the soft cotton of his shirt and I tug his mouth down to mine. He kisses me and I feel like I could float away. But I don’t. I hold him tight… and pull him straight into the water with me.
