Page 65 of Dumbstruck

She tilts her head up and kisses my jaw. “You would hate that.”

“I couldn’t possibly hate anything that you do.”

“You hate when I don’t answer your texts within thirty seconds,” she argues.

“Well yeah, because sometimes I only have a couple of minutes in between takes, and I don’t want to miss any chance to talk to you.” Seeing her name on my phone will never get old, though. The only thing better than getting a text or a phone call is a moment like this, when I can be at her side and breathe in her beauty and goodness and sweet scent that will always be my favorite smell.

It’s going to take a couple of years to get to a point where I can spend the majority of my time away from Los Angeles, but I’m feeling more optimistic than I ever have. No matter how chaotic and stressful it’s been, the last year of shifting my priorities has given me hope for the kind of future I really want.

Picking up the Kindle, June sets it on the cushion next to her and sits up so she can look at me. “I don’t like missing chances either,” she says, brushing her hand through my hair. “Which is why I’ve been thinking about something for a while that I want to run by you. Your mom loves the idea, and I’m hoping you do too.”

Interesting. I am nosy enough when it comes to June that I’ve made sure I’m the first person she tells things to, and while I love that she trusts my mom, I don’t know how I feel about not being the first in the know with whatever this is. “Tell me,” I say, lifting her fingers to my lips.

June’s face turns a light shade of pink, which only intrigues me more. “Okay, so you know that house on the end of your parents’ lane?”

I sit up so fast that I get a leg full of claws when Samson startles and leaps from my lap. “Are you about to say what I think you’re about to say?” Because I’ve been eyeing that house ever since it went on the market, but I’ve been too much of a chicken to mention it to June.

She grins and presses her palm to my cheek. “Sometimes it’s creepy how quickly you pick up on things, Jonah James.”

“But what about your store? This house?” I’m jumping to conclusions, but I can’t help myself. I’ve been spending half my free time here in Laketown and the other half in Idaho, but every time I’m there I want to be here, and every time I’m here a part of me wants to be with my family. Mom’s doing better, but everyone always looks so much older whenever I get the chance to visit.

I feel like I’m missing so much.

Her smile growing, June runs her thumb over my lips. “I’ve already sold the store, and this house is ready to go on the market as soon as I know if you want me to—”

“You want to move to Idaho? What about work? What about your parents?” I can barely bring myself to breathe.

“My dad is retiring next year, and they’re talking about downsizing. Maybe even looking at places in Idaho. And I’ve been applying for some paralegal jobs.”

My thoughts are working too fast for me to keep up. She already sold her store? Is applying for jobs? That means she isn’t just thinking about moving closer to my family. She’s doing it. “Are you serious about this?” I whisper, gripping her hand tightly. “June, if you moved to Idaho, I wouldn’t have to…” Heck, I might never go back to California. Who needs a career, anyway?

There’s a light in her eyes now, and she runs her thumb along my lips once more before leaning in and kissing me softly. “Jonah, you’ve sacrificed sleep and money to jump back and forth between everything, and I love you for that. It’s my turn to make a sacrifice, though being close to your family isn’t a sacrifice. I love your family almost as much as I love you.”

I pull her in for another kiss, losing myself in the taste of her as my heart seems to grow until it’s too big for my chest. “I don’t deserve you,” I whisper against her mouth. “But there is no world in which I will stop you from making this decision if that’s what you want. Having you and our families all in the same place…” I didn’t know a feeling this big could exist, and I almost don’t know what to do with it. “June Harper, you are an exquisite human being.”

She kisses me in a way that feels like she’s telling me something. If that something means she’s willing to stick around for good, it might be time to finish the conversation I started with her mom a few weeks ago and figure out what kind of ring June would like best.

I am so ready to turn one day at a time into the rest of forever.

The End