she doesn’t show? What if this has all been for nothing?
He took a deep breath and looked up to the clear blue sky above him. Stuffing his shaking hands into his jeans pockets, he closed his eyes and reminded himself, She said she loves me, and her eyes meant it. I saw it.
Once he had calmed himself the best he could, he opened his eyes and found himself staring at the white steeple of the Catholic cathedral, St. John the Baptist, where Shelly had told him she had been baptized. Reminding himself of everything he had put into this moment over the last several months, Josh was determined that nothing would deter him—nothing except for her failure to show.
***
Shelly found herself running through Lafayette Square at 3:57 p.m.
The stupid traffic had held her up a little longer than she had expected. As she rounded the final bend in the path leading to her fountain, she slowed down to a walk and took in the perfect scene before her.
Standing with his back to her was a man now so familiar she would be able to pick him out of a crowded stadium, and beside that strong figure sat a dog. They were both silent in their stillness, and as Shelly moved closer, she swore everything in the entire universe disappeared.
She had almost reached them when he turned, and she finally locked eyes with Josh.
Shelly stopped where she was, waiting to see what he was going to do, but Josh didn’t do anything at first. He merely looked her over from head to toe, and when his eyes came back to hers, he smiled slowly. She could have sworn she felt that smile reach inside of her and hug her heart.
***
Josh wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but as Shelly stood in front of him, dressed in a billowy blue blouse and simple faded jeans, he knew that this was his Georgia who had shown up.
In a move that was so simple and yet so incredibly important, he lifted a hand and held it out to her. He took a deep breath and waited to see what she would do.
He watched the woman he had fallen so deeply in love with step forward and take his hand without even a moment of hesitation. She gazed up at him as he squeezed her hand, tugging her forward. When Shelly put a hand up on his chest to steady herself, he swore she must have been able to feel his heart beating at a hundred miles an hour.
“You came,” he whispered down to her.
He watched as those incredible eyes of hers smiled at him, and her mouth tipped up at the corners to match.
“Nothing could have stopped me,” she answered.
Josh finally let go of the breath he had been holding in, and he shook his head. He reached up with his free hand and stroked it down the back of her head over her silky blonde hair to cup the nape of her neck, bringing her closer. Then, he leaned down and did what he’d wanted to do all week. He kissed her.
***
Shelly sighed as she felt his lips finally brush against her own.
He was so gentle in his persuasion for her to open to him. He had no need to worry though. Shelly was ready to give herself over to him, body and soul. And, if he wanted anything else, he could have that, too.
As he lifted his lips from hers, he leaned his forehead against hers, and their noses brushed as he closed his eyes. He still had a hand on her neck, and the other one was holding hers. She could feel his heart thundering beneath her palm.
“Josh?” she questioned softly. When she got no response, she moved and kissed his cheek. “Josh?”
He blinked as though he was pulling himself out of some kind of daze, and then he smiled at her.
“Stop it,” she told him.
“Stop what?”
He watched her move back, leaning down to pat Mutley’s head. When she straightened, she bit her bottom lip and gave a nervous laugh.
“Looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” he asked as he stepped closer again. Before she could answer, he raised a finger and laid it across her lips gently. “Like I love you?”
Is that a question I’m supposed to answer?
Apparently not because then he continued.
“Because I do. Love you, that is. I have never loved someone as much as I love you, Shelly.”
Shelly felt her heart starting that strong gallop inside her