*****
Kate let her hair out of her ponytail and spruced up her makeup. A pop of a coral lipstick accented her simple outfit. She chose a pair of form fitting jeans. Her mahogany complexion was gorgeous against her cream colored shirt. Spraying a bit of vanilla scented perfume, she readied to eat dinner with Bruce,
When she walked into the living room, there he was, standing there.
“You are my knight in shining armor. Swooping in here and saving the day.”
“It was nothing really. Come on. Let’s eat.”
Kate led them out to her balcony, where she had a table set with a floral centerpiece and a bowl with floating candles.
Bruce pulled out her chair and waited for her to take a seat. “Let me get the food.”
She relaxed while he got the food ready.
“Here we go.” He returned with two plates with slices of pizza.
“It’s not gourmet, but it is dinner.”
Laughing, she ate the pizza. “All that matters is the outcome. I was starving and what I had going on in the kitchen was not going to count as dinner.”
The air outside was warm and the sounds of the street below surrounded them. Kate appreciated the fact that the two of them could sit in a comfortable silence.
“How was your conference?”
“Everything went well. I made some headway with some potential prospects.”
“That is wonderful. I’m really proud of you for going back to consulting.”
Bruce wiped his mouth with a napkin. His sexy grin turned her on. “Thank you. I just hate being away from you for any amount of time.”
He took her hand in his. “It is like an eternity being away from you. Not waking up next to you in the morning. A man should not have to suffer like that.”
“Tell me more,” she purred, leaning in as if Bruce was going to tell her a secret.
Gazing at her from across the table, Bruce looked as if he was ready to pour out his heart and soul. She was ready for anything.
“Kate, over this past year, I have grown to love you more and more each day. When we met, I was not looking for love. I was not looking for anything in particular. And then you came along. Changed all of that for a man like me. My dream is to have the wife and the kids and all that life has to offer me. And I want that with you.”
Words were caught in her throat. Kate was not sure how to respond as a tear came to her eye.
“Kate, I know we have these careers and these goals and all of these other things going on in our lives. But I want us to keep us first. We have to remember what made us fall for each other and keep that as our guiding force. We have to remind ourselves that we fell for one another, despite the fact that outwardly looking in, we appear to be polar opposites.”
His words evoked more tears. As Bruce spoke, Kate’s heart swelled with love. Bruce never hesitated to tell her how he felt.
He squeezed her hand, then bringing it to her lips, he kissed her skin. “I’m all yours tonight.”
She took her other hand and wiped her tears away. “Good. I did not want you leave.”
“I won’t.”
He beckoned for her to stand up. She did, coming to him as he led her to the ledge. Bruce wrapped his arms around her as they looked out over the city.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” she began.
“What?” He nuzzled his face in her hair.
“How life moves so quickly. The fluidity of it all. Things change all of the time. Where you would think there would be some sort of fear in that, it is really something powerful.”
“I think you are right about that, my love.” He kissed the back of her neck and tightened his hold around her waist.
“You know. I was not looking for love at all either. I basically wanted to work and just focus on my career. I think partially because I am driven, and partially because I did not think anyone would fulfill my fairy tale. A huge part of me did not want to be disappointed at all if I did not find love. But Bruce, you have changed all of that for me. Made me understand that love comes from the most unexpected places and sometimes it does not look like you expect it to look. I’m so unbelievably happy.”
He turned her around to face him. “What you’ve said is something I already know, but it warms a cowboy’s heart to know that you feel as I do.”
His kiss was sweet, his embrace tender. The flurry of I love you’s made the moment complete. Bruce pulled her as close to him as possible, the weight of his body and the muscles on his brawny arms practically crushing her.
“So where would you like to go from here Ms. Walker?”
“That is a good question,” she said, speaking partially to herself. It was a question that warranted a second to think. Kate wanted to ask Bruce the same, but one never answered a question with another question.
“I never saw relationships as the type of thing where you would have to think too hard about what would come next. It is the kind of process that moves on at its own pace, and I’m learning that pace is present whether the participants are ready or not.”
Bruce raised a brow at her response, but did not speak.
“So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m prepared to let this go, let us go where it may. I’m going to just trust in love, and trust that love will guide us where we need to go.”
He kissed her forehead. “Trusting in love it is.”
*****
Waking up next to Bruce was felt exhilarating. She loved the fact that he held her in their sleep, never letting them be too far apart. Under his protective embrace was where she felt safest. Sunlight streamed in the bedroom window. Stretching, she had no choice but to wake up when the sun filled the room.