Just The Way You Are(103)

What?

What?!

‘As soon as you told me about that list, I wanted to be the person who shared your dreams with you. Made your dreams come true. I tried to pretend we could just be friends, but for the first time in years I’ve started thinking about dreams of my own. To be honest, I’ve driven myself half-crazy dreaming about you. I was irrationally fuming that I’d not met you in time, so you’d ended up starting the thing without me. In the end I didn’t say anything, not because I was unsure if I wanted to be with you. I held back because I was scared that I couldn’t be the Dream Man you deserved. The one you wanted. Last time I tried to be the answer to someone’s dreams, I ended up destroying everything. Plus…’ He gave a rueful smile. ‘That No-Man Mandate. I was trying to be respectful, until you looked up at me when we were dancing and all my good intentions were obliterated.’

He rolled his eyes before continuing. ‘Anyway. Once I’d stopped being such a self-pitying, love-struck coward, I realised that you weren’t like Carrie. Or my dad. You weren’t going to put all your dreams in my hands. To expect me to make everything perfect. You meant it when you said that you don’t need a partner to be happy. But… you also said that you wanted someone to share your life with. I came to the party with the intention of asking whether you might consider seeing if that could be me.’

‘And then you found me flirting with Leon.’

He sighed. ‘I couldn’t think straight, I was so jealous, Ollie. If you’re looking for serious, for all-in, committed, building a life together, wildly in love as long as we both shall live, I’m your man. Or, at least, I would very much like the opportunity to try.’

‘Wow.’

‘And, if I’m not mistaken…’ Sam made a big show of checking his super-cool ranger watch. ‘The No-Man Mandate ended nearly two hours ago. So, I had a question.’

‘Yes,’ I breathed, unable to take my eyes off his.

He smiled the smile that sent my heart soaring. ‘I haven’t asked the question yet.’

‘The answer’s yes.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘I don’t care what time it is. Until I go to bed it’s still my birthday, and I would very much like to celebrate with a non-casual, deeply serious kiss.’

Sam’s whole face lit up. He slowly leant towards me in the darkness, pausing once his mouth was a breath away from mine.

‘Just to be clear,’ he murmured. ‘Am I the person that you want to—’

Before he could finish the sentence, I tilted forwards, and softly pressed my lips against his. We lingered there for the sweetest moment, before he gently pulled away. ‘Hmm. That felt a bit casual to me.’

With one fluid movement, he pulled me into his lap, settling back in the chair to ensure we were both comfortable, before kissing me so intently that it hummed through every cell, sent my head spinning. A kiss that woke up parts of me I hadn’t known were sleeping. A kiss that contained a thousand promises of love and laughter and a lifetime of kisses to come. It was the kiss I’d been dreaming of since I sat in my bedroom and started a list.

It was the kind of kiss that made a woman believe dreams can come true, after all.





Acknowledgments





Huge thanks as always must go to team Boldwood, who are all simply brilliant. I don’t know what I appreciate more about Sarah Ritherdon – her insightful editing, enthusiasm and encouragement all play such a vital role in keeping me on track. I also remain incredibly grateful to my agent, Kiran Kataria, whose support and advice are invaluable.

Thanks also to Neil Barnes from Forestry England, who kindly took the time to share his experiences as a real-life ranger.

And of course, to everyone who has read my books, taken the time to write a review or get in touch, I cannot thank you enough. Knowing you are out there reading and loving my books means more than I can say.

For Ciara, Joseph and Dominic, who continue to teach me so much about life and love, and never fail to make me laugh.

And for George – how precious to love and be loved just the way we are.





Author’s Note





While ReadUp is a fictional charity, it was inspired by the fantastic work of Read Easy UK. There are an estimated 2.4 million people in the UK either unable or barely able to read. As well as being five times more likely to be unemployed, adults who struggle to read face challenges in all areas of life, for example understanding road signs, household bills, food packaging or basic health information.

Read Easy is an adult literacy charity that provides free, confidential, one-to-one reading coaching to adults. It is changing lives across the country, but unlike my fictional ReadUp, the reading coaches are all volunteers. You can find out more about this amazing organisation, including ways to support them, at readeasy.org.uk, or @ReadEasyUK





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