Page 65 of Yours, Finally

"This place has already been revitalized, though. Look at this beautiful main street!"

I placed a hand on her thigh. "Yeah. The goal was to make it into a country escape for city folk— people like us, essentially."

"It's gorgeous. I can't wait to walk down the street with you, maybe for dinner. All the PDA, all the time, because we don't have to care about who might see us."

"If anyone we know happens to be here this weekend and catches us, then it was destiny."

"I would take it as a sign that the universe wants us to spill the beans." She put her hand on mine and squeezed.

I followed the GPS's directions until we left the urban area, and got to farmland. The roads got narrower and narrower, until we reached an area of green pastures where horses roamed. Within fifteen minutes, we arrived at a charming, renovated cabin overlooking a small lake.

"This place is amazing." Vi got out of the car and did a full circle looking around. "How did you find it?"

Out of the car as well, I crossed my arms on its roof and gazed at her profile. Wind played with her hair, and her smile was wide and free and it lit me up from inside.

So long, knowing her smiles, but not having them directed at me. Finally, I had them again.

I grinned, too. "I found a community online for the best underappreciated weekend cabins in the country. They wouldn't let me in at the beginning, but I told them I really wanted to impress a lady I'd been half in love with for a decade, and who was giving me a chance at last. They let me in after that."

She turned her head to me, her light brown fingers and bright tiffany blue nails clearing a strand of hair from her face. Her smile turned flirty, and it pulled from me with the gravity ofinterstellar objects. I rounded the car and didn't stop until I could press her against the metal door.

I put my hands on her soft hips. She put her hands on my chest, and dragged them up my torso until they touched the skin of my neck.

"Half in love for a decade?" she asked.

I nodded. "They recommended this cabin as it was one of the few available on short notice. Told me the owners raise and care for horses— the ones we saw on the way in. This was the original house, but they built a bigger one at the other end of the pastures. Renovated this one and rent it out sometimes. I promised to let them know if you were properly impressed."

She laughed. "I think I will be, but let's wait until Sunday. Just to make sure."

"Fair." I chuckled and gave her a quick kiss. "I suppose. For now, let me tell you the plan."

Her eyes were unfocused on me, as she gazed at my hair, my cheeks, my lips.

"I love the faint freckles on your face." She ran soft fingers over them. "Your eyelashes are silver at the root. I love those, too."

"Mmh. Now I'm wondering if I should bother to tell you the plan. If you want to list the things you love about me, I'm happy to be spontaneous instead."

"Yeah. Unless there's something critical I should know, why don't you surprise me?"

"Okay." I kissed her forehead, her temple, her cheek. "There's only one thing I want to say now. I'd like us not to mention the fact we're keeping our relationship private. Let's not mention your family or our friends. Let's make this weekend about us alone."

Her bright brown eyes settled on mine, and a soft smile tilted her lips. "I'd like that."

With no more words, I gave her a long, deep kiss, until the night had almost fallen on us.

Vi

We found our bearings in the homey cabin, and left our bags in what would be our bedroom for the two nights we'd spend there.

The cabin was a one-bedroom little thing, with a bathroom Jake didn't let me check for some reason. A small kitchen overlooked a four-place breakfast nook tucked in a bow window, and a medium-sized living room. Some of the furniture looked old but reupholstered, with a blanket on top of the large sofa that seemed crocheted by hand. The couch was placed overlooking the largest window in the place, inviting us to read a book cuddled under the blanket. In the corner, a closed-combustion fireplace, the kind you could place an old kettle on top to make tea on a cozy evening; and eclectic paints and art on the walls.

The view out of that side of the house painted a glorious landscape portrait; the back door opened to a small patio with basic outdoor furniture, and a trail to a grassy patch and a short dock. The lake itself stole the view, lifting one's eyes to a distant opposite shore, a few sparse old trees, and rolling hills into the horizon.

I found Jake in the small kitchen, pouring white wine into a glass.

"Just one?" I put a hand on his shoulder and went up to kiss his cheek. "What are you drinking?"

"Nothing yet." He passed the glass to me. "This glass is part of what I have planned for right now."