Just A Kiss Read online

  “Because” He paused when his finger brushed her bottom lip. “As I was driving to the pier tonight I saw a shooting star and made a wish that I would meet the most beautiful woman in the world and we would ride the Ferris wheel together. Now I’m here, sitting with the most beautiful woman in the world so I know wishes do come true, but if you don’t join me my faith in shooting stars will forever be broken.”

  Cooper’s speech may have been just on the right side of cheesy, but hell if it didn’t make Victoria tear up all the same. Moving closer into his side, Victoria took Cooper’s hand in hers and placed a kiss to the soft skin on the back of it.

  “Thank you.” She said softly.

  “For what?” Cooper asked as he pulled her further into his side and kissed the top of her head.

  “For showing up tonight, but also for what you said. It was really sweet.”

  “I’ve missed you Victoria. You have no idea how hard it was for me to stay away from you this week.”

  “I know what you mean.” Victoria sighed. “Dealing with the demons of my past hasn’t been easy, but I think being away from you was even harder.”

  “Have you? Dealt with your past I mean. Because if you need more time I’m willing to wait. The important thing is you don’t rush things, and if that means I have to be patient I will. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Victoria brought her hand to Cooper’s mouth and used her thumb and forefinger to pinch his lips together.

  “I need you to stop talking and just listen for a minute, okay? If you can do that I will let go. Alright?” Cooper nodded his agreement, and when Victoria released his lips he remained silent.

  Victoria had been thinking about this conversation all day and now that it was finally here her mind was drawing a blank. Figuring it was better to go with what was in her heart than in her head, Victoria moved away from Cooper’s side and turned them both so they were now face to face of the bench.

  “Now while I appreciate your willingness to give me the time and space I need to deal with my past, that could take years. Time with you that I’m not willing to give up or that I’m going to ask you to wait for. I’m not saying all my ghosts and demons are laid to rest, but I’ve started seeing a therapist to work through any remaining issues and she told me she could see no reason why I can’t have a normal healthy relationship while also being in therapy.”

  “So I’m here because your therapist said it’s okay? Gee, remind me to send her a gift basket.”

  Cooper’s snippiness should have bothered Victoria, and maybe a week ago she would have said ‘screw it’ and walked away, but this wasn’t last week. It was today. And today Cooper was dealing with the new and improved Victoria Howe. One who could step back and look at a situation objectively, and when she looked at this situation Victoria saw where the misunderstandings lie.

  “That didn’t come out the way I wanted it to. Let me try again.” Victoria shook her head and started over. This time removing all the past and therapy speak, and focusing on what was important.

  “I love you.”

  Victoria hadn’t meant to just blurt it out like that, but now that it was out in the open she felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Other than family and a few friends, Victoria had never told another person she loved them and it turned out to be a lot less terrifying than she imagined.

  Cooper on the other hand seemed to be in some sort of shock by Victoria’s announcement. One that rendered him motionless as well as speechless for a brief period of time before he finally snapped out of it.

  “What did you say?”

  Victoria knew Cooper heard her correctly the first time, but if he needed her to reassure him she would. She didn’t care if she had to say it a hundred more times before it finally sank in because she was no longer afraid to tell him how she felt. Only this time when she said it, Victoria made sure to put a little more romance behind it.

  Bringing her hands up to cup Cooper’s face, Victoria looked deep into his green eyes and said it again.

  “I love you, Cooper Wilde. I love you and that is the reason I asked you here tonight. I lied that night in Golden Gate Park. It wasn’t just a kiss to me. It was so much more, and it was that more that scared me but I refuse to let fear rule my life for one more day.” Victoria began to get choked up, but she was determined to get it all out with out falling apart.

  “Like the saying goes ‘Today is the first day of the rest of your life’, and that’s what I want. A new life. A fresh start free of fear, ghosts, and loneliness. I want to get married, have kids, and do all the things I had always been too afraid to even dream about. I want all of these things, Cooper, and I want them with you. But the bigger question is do you want them with me? I mean I know I screwed up before, but that was the old Victoria. I won’t push you away ever again, I…”

  “Did anyone ever tell you you talk too much?” Cooper asked right before he pulled her into his arms and kissed Victoria with so much passion and aggression she knew her lips would be swollen for hours, but she didn’t care. This was what she wanted. This connection, this passion, this…love. And as if he could read her mind, Cooper pulled back just enough to say those three little words.

  “I love you, Victoria. I think I’ve loved you since the day you walked into the studio and called me ‘Superstar’.” Victoria tried to laugh through the tears that were now freely falling from her eyes, but it was impossible. “And to answer your question, yes. Yes I want all of those things. House, dog, two point five kids, white picket fence, all of it, but I do have one stipulation.”

  Victoria didn’t know what Cooper could possibly want that they hadn’t already covered, but he had listened while she told him what she wanted so Victoria sat up and gave him the same consideration.

  “Go ahead.” She said, prepared for anything. “I’m listening.”

  Cooper lifted his hand to the side of Victoria’s face and wiped away a stray tear that was still clinging to her cheek. Victoria turned into the caress, but Cooper brought her face back to his for a too brief kiss before looking her in the eye.

  “Yes I want to marry you, but before there can be a wedding there needs to be an engagement.” Victoria started to interrupt and tell Cooper it was too soon, but he cut her off at the pass. “Relax, I’m not going to propose right now.”

  That was a relief. It wasn’t that she was lying to Cooper a minute ago; she did want to get married. But since they had only been officially back together for all of five minutes, Victoria thought an engagement might complicate things just a bit.

  “Good. Not that I wouldn’t say yes, but..”

  “It’s too soon.” Cooper finished for her. “What I was going to say is that even though we both know we want to get married, I don’t think it’s something we need to rush out and do tomorrow. Let’s take sometime to just be together without all the added stress an engagement puts on a couple, and then when the time is right I will give you the proposal you deserve. How does that sound?”

  “Perfect.” Victoria said as she kissed first his cheeks, then the tip of his nose, and finally kissed Cooper on the lips. “Absolutely perfect. Just like you.”

  This time Cooper was the one to laugh.

  “I’m far from perfect Victoria, but I think we are perfect for each other.”

  “That we are.” Victoria agreed. Then they spent the next five minutes getting lost in one another’s embrace until a very nice security guard asked them to please relocate their make-out session to a more private location.

  Victoria was mortified, while Cooper laughed like a fool the whole way to buy tickets for the Ferris wheel. Once they had their tickets, Victoria and Cooper got in line and waited until it was their turn to step into one of the slow moving passenger cars.

  “Look on the bright side.” Cooper said as they entered the next car that came by. “Since your not my image consultant anymore you won’t get in trouble if my picture winds up in the paper.”

  Victoria w
inced at the mention or her old job. She never discussed resigning from being his image consultant with Cooper before she had the meeting with Richards, and since she obviously hadn’t seen him since then Victoria had no idea what the consequences had been for him.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you first before I just up and quit, but I figured it would make things easier on both of us if we no longer worked together.”

  “It’s alright. Richards called me into his office on Tuesday and let me know. He also told me that as long as I don’t do anything crazy, he wouldn’t be hiring anyone to replace you. Apparently your conversation with him went a long way in him making that decision, so thank you for whatever you said.” Cooper leaned in for a kiss and Victoria met him half way.

  “You’re welcome.” She said and went to stand at the side of the car that overlooked Chicago’s skyline.

  “You weren’t kidding. This is incredible.” Cooper said as he came up from behind and held her.

  Victoria let the warmth of Cooper’s body sink into her back as they spent the rest of the seven minute ride just enjoying being wrapped in each others arms while taking in the beauty of the sights in front of them.

  When it came time for their car to exit, Victoria started to walk toward the door but Cooper just held her in place.

  “Cooper, we have to exit. This Ferris wheel doesn’t stop to let you off.”

  “I know, but we’re not getting off.”

  “We’re not?” Victoria asked, looking up at Cooper for clarification.

  “Nope. I slipped the ticket guy a hundred bucks, so we can ride as long as you want. Or at least until ten o’clock with it shuts down for the night.”

  The only complaint Victoria had ever had about coming to Navy Pier to ride the Ferris wheel was that it always seemed to be over way too soon. Seven minutes wasn’t a lot of time to truly enjoy the views this ride offered, but tonight she didn’t have to worry about missing anything because like always Cooper was two steps ahead.

  Turning around so she could see his face, Victoria sighed as she realized all of this was real. She had a loving and supportive family, great friends old and new that were there for her whenever she needed them, and now Cooper.

  A man that sometimes lost his temper and could say all the wrong things when he was mad, but Victoria had no doubt that he would forever be by her side. Encouraging her and holding her hand through all the ups and downs that lie ahead, and that’s what mattered most.

  “I have no idea what I did to deserve you Cooper Wilde, but believe me when I say I will never take a single second of our lives together for granted.”

  And to prove how much she meant what she said, Victoria wrapped her arms around Cooper’s neck and pulled him in for a very long, very slow kiss.

  One that lasted well into their fourth time around.

  ####

  About the Author:

  Morgan Rayne discovered her love of romance novels at an early age. Escaping into the world of happily ever after’s and true loves was a great outlet when life wasn’t so great. Writing a romance novel had always been a dream, but one she never thought possible to achieve. Being a stay at home mom has allowed her the opportunity to now follow that dream. When she’s not playing with her kids, cooking dinner or writing, Morgan loves to listen to any and all kinds of music, dance around the house and read on her iPad for hours on end.

  Discover other titles by Morgan Rayne

  Spring Towers Series:

  A Different Kind of Fairy Tale

  Let Me Love You

  Just A Kiss

  Book 4 Coming Soon

  Connect with Me Online:

  Twitter: Morganrayne12

  Facebook: http://facebook.com/pages/Morgan-Rayne