Page 98 of Get A Fix

“You wrote a letter to your wife every single day?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That’s quite the commitment.”

Noel grinned. “Well, I wanted to keep her interest. That goes back to your lust with a side of like.”

“Yes, it does.”

“These days you have it easy. You just pick up the phone, call, use FaceTime, and see their beautiful face whenever you want, so there’s no excuse now not to make sure you’re always connected.”

“Fifty-two years?” I teased him.

His laugh was warm. “When you know, you know.” He smiled at his wife. “It was like lightning for me. She needed more convincing.”

Kiyomi shook her head.

“It was because I drove a motorcycle and she didn’t want to wear a helmet, and every time she tied a scarf in her hair, we’d look behind us and it was lying in the road.”

“Was it hard for the two of you in 1972 in Los Angeles?” Ash asked.

“Of course,” Noel told him. “But you don’t give up just because something is hard, now do you?”

“No, sir.”

“Good, now we’ll start a tab for you because you’re going to need cobbler. In the meantime,” he directed us, “walk down those steps and all the way to the back. There’s a fireplace near a table by the window overlooking the bay. Not a lot to see today, but that’s all right.”

The table was oak, the chairs teak, and the fact that they were mismatched only added to the charm. It was comfortable, the rain was lovely on the water, and once we were both sitting, I smiled at Ash.

“So, do you think that was the universe giving us a sign?”

“Of course that was the universe giving us a sign!” he shouted at me. “Are you kidding? I am calling every day when we’re apart. And yes, I will probably call at bad times, wake you from a dead sleep, and generally make a nuisance of myself, but I don’t care.”

I was crazy about his adamant declarations, the besotted look in his eyes, his silky tone, and the way he got up from his chair and dropped down into the one beside me. I couldn’t stop smiling.

“I’m already invested, Cooper, and I know I am because I’m over here riding a roller coaster of emotions, but I have no desire to get off.”

“No? None?” I asked, grinning.

“And see, you’re nasty, just like I am. You’re made for me.”

“I am,” I said, and it came out lower and more growly than intended.

He sucked in a breath.

“I promise, Ash, no more second-guessing, only moving forward.”

“We don’t have to do the spitting again, do we?”

“No. It’s still good from the last time,” I murmured, standing up and then sitting right in his lap, straddling his thighs and taking his face in my hands. “But I do think this promise needs sealing.”

His breath caught. “Yes. I—me too.”

“And when we get back to the room, we’ll seal it again more thoroughly.”

Lots of nodding.

“I want you to take this bracelet back. It’s not necessary,” I said, tilting his head, lifting his lips to mine. “I have what I want,” I said, and kissed him.