Page 102 of The Birthday List (Maysen Jar 1)

Cole collapsed on top of me, holding me close, as we panted for air. I pressed my hands flat onto his back, not wanting to let him go quite yet, until, finally, we’d regained our breaths and the room had stopped spinning. He slid out and fell onto the bed at my side. Then with a fast tug, he pulled me onto his chest.

“Now, I’m wiped.”

I giggled into his neck. Between the hike and the sex, I bet he’d be dead to the world in less than five minutes. “I’m going to clean up. Be right back.” With a peck on his cheek, I rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom. I hurried to clean up, wanting to make it back into his arms before he fell asleep.

Cole was waiting when I slipped under the blankets he’d turned down. He pulled me into his side and nuzzled his nose into my hair. Then he took my hand and laced our fingers together. “Are you okay? Being with me?”

Since I’d completely broken down after our first kiss, his question didn’t surprise me. He was probably waiting for me to have another crying jag. But there was nothing about sex with Cole to cause anything other than tears of joy.

“I’m better than okay.” I kissed his chest. “I’m wonderful. And you’re the only one I want to be with.”

“Good.” He blew out a relieved breath. “Do you want to talk about why your rings are gone?”

I should have known he wouldn’t miss that. “It was time.”

“You can always talk to me about him. About how you’re feeling. Promise you’ll tell me if it ever gets to be too much.”

“I promise, just not here. This bed, it’s a place that’s just for us, okay? This is only ours.”

He kissed my hair. “Okay.”

I closed my eyes and snuggled closer, glad that he liked to cuddle. “Good night.”

He yawned. “Night, my pretty Poppy.”

Then I fell asleep next to the second man I’d ever had sex with. The man who had set out to win my damaged heart. The man who had been healing it ever since.

The man I saw when I dreamed of the future.

The next morning, Cole and I were slow to start the day.

Since I didn’t have boots, we couldn’t take the morning hike I’d originally planned, so instead, we lazed in bed. After he’d made me come—twice—and shared my shower, we forced ourselves apart and left the lodge, making a stop at Lake McDonald.

“I’ve seen so many pictures of this lake, but none of them do it justice.” Leaning into Cole’s side, I couldn’t believe this place was real.

The glassy water reflected the blue mountains in the distance. Some of the trees had started to turn, their yellow and amber leaves contrasting with the surrounding evergreens. But my favorite part was the lake rocks. Round, smooth stones of every color—red, green, blue and yellow—rested under the water’s surface.

“I want to come back here some day and take a canoe out on the lake.”

Cole’s arm around my shoulders pulled tighter. “Maybe we should come back every year. This could be our annual vacation.”

I smiled. “I like that.”

This park would always be special to me, mostly because this was the place where Cole and I had really started. I’d happily come back every year to spend a weekend together. And I loved that Cole assumed—just like I did—that we would be together. That I’d be the one he’d spend his annual vacations with.

“Give me your phone. I’ll take your picture.” He let me go and held out his hand.

“Okay.” I dug it out of my back pocket and handed it over.

Cole backed up, but I didn’t turn right away. I kept my eyes on the lake and threw my arms out to my sides, tipping back my chin to let the sun warm my face.

“All right.” He chuckled. “Turn around and smile.”

I dropped my arms and turned, but instead of smiling, I blew Cole a kiss.

He clicked a few pictures, then gave me back my phone. “Do you want to stay or should we head back?”

I looked over my shoulder at the lake one last time. “We’d better go. It’s a long drive.”