Chapters (89)
- Dedication
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ONE
- HENRY
- TWO
- EMMA
- THREE
- HENRY
- FOUR
- EMMA
- FIVE
- EMMA
- SIX
- SEVEN
- HENRY
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- HENRY
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- EMMA
- THIRTEEN
- HENRY
- FOURTEEN
- HENRY
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- EMMA
- SEVENTEEN
- HENRY
- EIGHTEEN
- HENRY
- NINETEEN
- HENRY
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- EMMA
- TWENTY-TWO
- EMMA
- TWENTY-THREE
- HENRY
- TWENTY-FOUR
- EMMA
- TWENTY-FIVE
- EMMA
- TWENTY-SIX
- EMMA
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- HENRY
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- EMMA
- TWENTY-NINE
- HENRY
- THIRTY
- HENRY
- THIRTY-ONE
- HENRY
- THIRTY-TWO
- EMMA
- THIRTY-THREE
- HENRY
- THIRTY-FOUR
- EMMA
- THIRTY-FIVE
- EMMA
- THIRTY-SIX
- HENRY
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- EMMA
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- HENRY
- THIRTY-NINE
- HENRY
- FORTY
- EMMA
- FORTY-ONE
- HENRY
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- EMMA
- FORTY-FOUR
- EMMA
- FORTY-FIVE
- HENRY
- EPILOGUE
- ALSO BY CHELSEA CURTO
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“You need to stop saying all the right things. I’m beginning to think you were created just for me,” I murmur, kissing her forehead. “Want to shower?”
“Yeah. I’m sticky. There’s chocolate in places where it shouldn’t be since someone can’t seem to eat ice cream correctly.”
“Allow me to clean up my mess. Then we can discover all the fun things we can do in the shower together.”
She squeaks with excitement and jumps off the bed, running toward the bathroom off to the side. I grin as I watch her disappear.
I don’t want to sneak out and make an escape. I don’t want to hide or cower away, searching for an excuse to leave and never talk to her again. I want to stay here, with Emma, through the night, holding her against me as she falls fast asleep. I want to kiss her forehead when she wakes up, being the first thing to make her smile in the new day.
I hope she knows how serious I am about this.
About her.
I never want to let her go.
THIRTY-NINE
HENRY
“How are you and Emma doing?” My mom’s question comes through the phone as I pull the doors to the restaurant open, making my way to the back corner where the group has already snagged a table for us.
“We’re doing great,” I say assuredly, for once meaning every word.
“Are you? If something happened, Henry, you can tell us. We wouldn’t be mad.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I meant with the two of you. The party is over. If you were trying to make us happy by having a girlfriend, you can drop the game now. I know you’ve always enjoyed your bachelor life, and if you broke up, that’s okay.”
“There’s no game, Mom. Seriously. We’re doing great. I know we haven’t been up to visit in the last couple of weeks, but that’s because we’ve been spending time together. Work has also been stressful as hell, so finding a professional and personal balance has been kind of difficult.”
“Okay. I love you, Hen, and I just want you to be happy.”
“I am happy,” I say, sliding into the booth and nodding hello to the group. “Can I call you later this weekend?”
“I know that’s code for you’re out with your friends and rushing me off the phone. Tell everyone I say hi. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Clicking my phone off, I scrub my hand over my face.
“You good?” Noah asks.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just Mom.”
“Is Emma coming tonight?”
“Yeah.” I look over my shoulder toward the door, knowing she’s not here yet. She’s meeting my friends tonight and I’m nervous as hell.