on the other side of my hips.
“Beautiful,” I said, taking in the scene. But when I glanced up at him, to see if he was admiring the view, he was staring at me.
“I agree. You took my breath away today.”
“You look pretty damn fine yourself,” I said, turning to face him and resting my hip against the railing. He slid his arms around me, his hands resting at the small of my back.
“Thank you,” he said, his eyes intense.
“For what?”
“For giving me another chance. For not letting us lose each other. I’ll never forget the way you’ve been there for me, baby.”
I smiled, because it was impossible not to. “Everything happened the way it was supposed to,” I said.
He licked his lips. “And now I just want you to know that I’m going to spend every second of every day being here—right now—for you.”
“Oh Landon,” I said, my voice choked with emotion.
So much had happened in the last several years. Losing my mom. Losing Landon. And then finding him again. Finding myself again. It was like I’d stopped living while he was gone.
Like my life was him, and here, on this balcony in my wedding gown, a big diamond on my finger, was where it would truly begin again.
“I love you,” I said.
“I love you too,” he said.
And then he leaned into kiss me.
Everything seemed to flash before my eyes.
All of those old memories, and the pain and longing of not having the person I loved—all of the fun times and bad times and the times we were apart…all of it made a tapestry, all of it connected to this amazing moment.
I felt so full I could burst.
His lips were on mine, and I felt his soul, and I knew then that everything from now on would be new—new memories, new good times, even some hard times we’d get through together…but it would all be new and fresh and so exciting.
I’d never in my life been so happy to greet the next moment of my life as I was right then.
And I had a feeling that this was my new normal, and I smiled, as I let the love of my life sweep me into his arms and into the future.
THE END
OBSESSED WITH HIM
By Hannah Ford
Part I
Obsessed With Him by Hannah Ford
(Obsessed With Him, Book One)
Taking my clothes off in front of strangers suddenly seemed like a horrible idea. I imagined the men waiting for me in there, their hands roaming my body, running over my breasts, my hips, my ass.
I hesitated, not sure I should go into Loose Cannons after all.
It didn’t look like a strip club.
But that was probably how they lured you in. They made it look like any other bar or restaurant, innocent and unassuming, so that when you walked in, you wouldn’t feel like you were doing anything wrong.
I swallowed hard and looked down at the paper in my hand, the one I’d printed out that morning. I was clutching it so hard it was wrinkled around the edges, and I smoothed it out against my thigh. My palms were sweaty, and I wiped them off on the denim skirt I was wearing.
“DANCERS WANTED,” the ad said. “EARN UP TO 1,000 DOLLARS A NIGHT, GUARANTEED. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. APPLY IN PERSON, LOOSE CANNONS, 1800 NORTH MAIN STREET.”
There were no hours given, which I’d thought was strange. What was I supposed to do? Just show up whenever? I’d called the club that morning to ask, and the girl who’d answered the phone hadn’t been all that friendly. She instructed me to come down whenever I wanted and then she’d hung up on me.
I could have – probably should have -- taken it as a sign not to pursue this crazy idea any further. But I was desperate. And desperation could make a person do crazy things.
I took a deep breath and caught sight of my reflection in the mirrored front door. It was bizarre, the way the front door was a mirror -- it was almost like they wanted you to have to look at yourself, to confront exactly what it was you were about to do.
Are you sure you want to do this? a voice in my whispered. Do you know what they might make you do in there? Take off your clothes. For strange men. You’ve never even kissed a boy, how are you going to do that?
I adjusted the denim skirt I was wearing. It was fringed on the bottom and hit just