Authors: Wendy Owens

Stubborn Love (22 page)

“Your eyes are closed?” Colin yelled from across the room.

“Yes,” I replied impatiently. “I told you they were before I even came in.”

“Okay, hang on.” I could hear Colin’s footsteps bounding toward me. In a few seconds his warm hand took hold of mine, my fingertips brushing over the bandaid on his pinky. “This way… just hold my hand and follow my voice. A little closer… we’re almost there. All right.”

He halted and I stumbled slightly. “Can I open them?”

“Oh yeah, sorry, open your eyes.”

I actually gasped when I did. The room was open and bright, the new furniture complementing the industrial feel. “Oh Colin, it’s amazing!”

“Look behind you,” he instructed, pointing over my shoulder. Hanging over a bench on the main wall, just before you entered the master bedroom was my painting. I painted it after our trip to Ohio and called it ‘The flowers in her hair’ after The Lumineers’ song. A woman began in the fetal position, and in the painting you could see the motion of her standing, and leaping high, a few flowers in her hair.

“Wow, right in the entry, you must like it.” I smiled.

“Not just me,” Colin grinned, his arms wrapping around me and coming to rest at my lower back.

“What do you mean?” I asked, puzzled.

“The investor I’ve been talking to was here today. He said he loved it. It was pretty fucking amazing to tell him my girlfriend painted it,” Colin explained.

“Wait! What? Back up!” I exclaimed. “You had an investor here? What did he say about the place? Did you show him the master bath? I mean, that is amazing… you had to have shown him. Right? And the kitchen, now that the marble is in… it’s perfection. Are you going to tell me what he said?”

“If you let me get a word in.” Colin laughed.

“Sorry,” I said, lifting my hand up to my mouth and pressing firmly.

Colin pulled it away, kissing my fingers. “Well, he said the last minute decision to change out the concrete and add the wood floors was definitely the way to go.”

“Well, duh, any moron can see that,” I snapped. Colin stared at me, lifting his eyebrows. “Sorry, keep going.”

“He told me it’s obvious I have an understanding of what high end buyers are looking for.” Colin paused, his eyes not shifting from me.

“And?” I pushed.

“And… he would be happy to go into business with me. I’ve got the funding,” Colin said, his mouth hanging open, waiting for my response. I squealed, a wave of pure excitement washing over me. Colin lifted me off the ground hugging me so tightly I thought for a moment he might crack my spine.

He set me down, the bliss of the moment washing over us both. “You did an amazing job, Colin—you really should be proud. Although, my paintings do make the space look that much more fantastic.”

“Is that right?” Colin laughed.

“Yes, I mean, I think so,” I replied, flashing a mischievous grin.

“I happen to agree, and so does your professor. Which is why we need to get moving or we will be late for your show opening,” Colin reminded me, placing his hand on the small of my back, and ushering me toward the door.

“Paige and Christian will be there for sure?” I inquired, my head now swimming with excitement.

“That’s what he told me,” Colin reaffirmed.

I twisted my body as we neared the door causing Colin to stop. He glared at me with a puzzled gaze. “Hold on.”

“What is it?” Colin asked, a nervous tremor in his voice. I wasn’t surprised after everything I had put him through in the recent months. The on-again off-again status had to be hard on him. After we got home from Ohio, the break up conversations ended, but I think he still worried I might relapse, slipping back into the suit of despair I had grown accustomed to for all those years.

I closed the space between us, my face hovering only inches from his. My body began to move with his breathing. I slipped my arms around his body, clasping them together at his waist. He leaned back slightly, pulling his face away and looking down at me, a slight smile on his lips.

“I wanted to take a second, together, before tonight. I know it will probably be crazy,” I explained, my cheek warm from his breath as he sighed in relief.

“I want you to know something, Em. I think you know I wasn’t looking for this when we met, and honestly, I never thought something like what we have would find me, but—”

“I know,” I interrupted. Colin always felt like he needed to tell me how special I was to him. Ashton had always done the same thing—a lot of words to say how amazing I was. But that was the thing—they were just words. Colin was different. “You show me everyday, babe. I know.”

“Move in with me!” he blurted out, staring into my eyes for some sort of response.

I hesitated, shocked by the statement. At last I asked, “What about Paige? I can’t do that to her.”

“This isn’t spur of the moment. I was going to ask you later tonight, after the show, but I can’t wait. I already talked to Paige and Christian, and they said they would be happy to live together at your place, and you can move in here with me.

My heart started racing. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I didn’t take my eyes from him as he took a stray strand of hair and tucked it behind my ear. I leaned forward and kissed his chin, then the spot just to the right of his smile.

Pulling away, he gazed into my eyes, slipping his hands up to my cheeks, cradling my face. “Is that a yes?”

I nodded, all the hair on my neck standing up. “Yes, Colin Bennett, I’ll move in with you.” He knew me. That was obvious. If it were up to him he would be proposing marriage, but he knew me. He loved me for all of my broken pieces, and he was willing to put all of them back together one by one, for as long as it took. It may have taken time, and it was definitely a stubborn love. But it was real. And it was ours

Thank you to the many bloggers who are on the front lines every day, helping authors like me reach readers. I can’t thank you enough for what you do.

Sarah Hansen gets a big, sloppy wet kiss of a thank you for squeezing me in for a rush cover job. You absolutely captured Clementine, and I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect cover. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

One of the biggest thanks goes out to my editor, Madison Seidler. You put up with my incessant rambling, questions, blatant misspellings, and basically allowed me to pester the living hell out of you. Without your feedback and hard work this book wouldn’t be what it is. Thanks as well for the final read through Chelsea.

A shout out to Angela McLaurin at Fictional Formats for the last minute rush job, my book wouldn’t be wrapped in such a fancy bow without you.

To my husband, who advised me to bulk up the sex scene… Ladies, you can thank him. Without him this book would not exist. He made several late night trips to grocery to get me five hour energy or my coffee fix, he played Mr. Mom on the weekends to allow me the time I needed to write, and his encouragement kept me going when self-doubt crept in.

For my three beautiful children: I lost track of how many times Mommy said she needed quiet time to write, but you all always did your best to oblige me, even if you didn’t always succeed. During this book I discovered you are amazing at helping with chores, and I should have started you all cleaning years ago apparently. Seriously, though, all three of you were the best helpers any mommy could ever ask for. I love you all to the moon and back.

Wendy Owens was raised in the small college town of Oxford, Ohio. After attending Miami University, Wendy went on to a career in the visual arts. After several years of creating and selling her own artwork, she gave her first love, writing, a try.

Since 2011, she has published a young adult paranormal series,
The Guardians
, which will contain five books total, as well as a novella.

Wendy now happily spends her days writing—her loving dachshund, Piper, curled up at her feet. When she’s not writing, she can be found spending time with her tech geek husband and their three amazing kids, exploring the city she loves to call home: Cincinnati, OH.

Stubborn Love
is her debut New Adult novel.

Only In Dreams
, the second book in this series, is set to be released December 2013.