In my peripheral vision, I caught Ford watching my whispering session with Mark, and I turned and winked. He smiled—definitely more comfortable with what we had now than a few weeks ago.

Throughout the night, the laughter flowed as freely as the wine. I spent time talking to my friends, celebrating our success, and enjoying good food and company. Ford and I hadn’t really spoken since we walked in. He was letting me enjoy the night he’d arranged, and if I wasn’t mistaken, it looked like he was having a good time, too.

We might not have spoken to each other much, but we shared plenty of intimate glances and smiles—one of which Eve had just caught.

She sipped her drink and gave me a knowing look. “I really like him.”

I sighed. “Me, too.”

“You look…alive again.”

“Was I the walking dead before this summer?”

I’d been kidding, but Eve raised a brow.

She looked over at Ford. “He came to see me the other day.”

“What? When…and where?”

“He passed by my restaurant and stopped in.”

“He just happened to pass by?”

She shrugged. “He’s crazy about you.”

“I know. I don’t understand it, but I’m finally starting to realize that for whatever reason, he really does want to be with me.”

Eve shook her head. “I’d do you if I was a guy.”

I laughed. “Thanks. I think.”

“You don’t see it, but you’re a catch. You’re beautiful, loving, warm, fiercely protective, loyal, smart, a great mom. Your asshole ex-husband never appreciated what he had.”

“Honestly, Ford makes me feel beautiful. He watches me while I’m sleeping sometimes. That might sound creepy, but it’s actually sweet. He’ll just be looking at me with this reverent face you just can’t fake. He’s made me look at myself in the mirror and search for the beauty he sees. And you know what? Sometimes I find it.”

Eve took my hand. “I know you need to do some things—hell, I was the one who bugged you about making your My Turn list. But you can have a boyfriend and still find you. Ryan wanted you locked up in his stingy little castle because he was weak and insecure. Ford might be younger, but he’s stronger and more confident in who he is. I don’t think he needs to be the center of your universe. He just wants to be part of your world.”

***

I stood with my jaw hanging open.

Ford didn’t have an apartment. He had an entire floor.

From the outside, the building looked like what it mostly was—a giant warehouse. But the top floor had been converted into living space. It had an industrial feel with worn steel beams, exposed ductwork, real brick walls, and polished concrete floors, yet it was also warm and homey with natural wood, a giant fireplace, and a gorgeous, modern, stainless-steel kitchen—though the best part was the open mezzanine level above half of the apartment. A rooftop terrace occupied a space twenty feet in the air, with walls of glass. Standing in the living room, you could look up and see the night sky twinkling. I was at a loss for words.

“Ford, this is…this is stunning. Absolutely incredible.”

He was adorably modest. “It looks like more than it is. The area was pretty depressed when my parents bought it thirty years ago. It didn’t become trendy to live down here until the last decade.”

“But you made this?”

“Well, contractors made it. I just designed the layout and converted the space from storage to livable. It was under construction when the accident happened. My dad never got to see it completed. I finished it and moved in here after I went through that rough patch. It helped me feel like something was my own.”

“I’m sure your father would be proud of this place and your choices, Ford.” I walked to an open staircase toward the glass rooftop room. “Can I see up here?”

“Of course.”

Ford led me to a large, outdoor space. It was partially sunken into the indoor space below to create a mezzanine level, and the interior space was viewable by looking down through a glass wall. I stood outside on the roof of the building and could see his kitchen.

“I feel like I’m in a tree house.”

He smiled. On the floor, along the perimeter of the entire room, were plants in multicolored pots. “They’re what’s left of my mom’s plants. She had a green thumb. Mine’s black.”

I’d never seen anything like this. “Ford, this should be in a magazine.”

He pushed his hands into his pockets. “Thanks.”

“So this is what you want to do to all the warehouse space, then? You can convert them all like this?”

He nodded. “Sort of. They’d all be different because I keep the commercial elements of the support structure intact, and those are different on each floor. And of course, only the top floor can have the skylight room.”

I surveyed the room in awe. “I obviously know nothing about building or architecture, but I know what I like. And I’d kill to live here.”

Ford walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Oh yeah? You know what you like?” He dropped a sweet kiss on my shoulder before moving to my neck and then up to my ear. “Tell me…do you like this?”

Uhhh…duh. I nodded. “I definitely do.”

He reached down and under my dress, skimming his fingers along my thigh. “How about this?”

I shut my eyes and leaned my head back against him. “Mmm…yes.”

His hands moved up to cup my breasts, and he squeezed hard. “And this?”

I let out a breathy yes as he pinched my nipples. My back arched as he sank his teeth into my shoulder. I’d definitely have a mark tomorrow, but I’d smile when I saw it in the mirror.

“I love the thought of fucking you out here. It’s too bad we’re up so high and no one will see. Because I’d like the whole world to watch.”

I turned to look at him, and he took my mouth in a kiss—unhurried and drugging; he made me feel like I was floating. One hand slipped inside the halter of my dress, and he plucked and pinched my already pert nipples into stiff peaks. When I moaned into his mouth, he slid his other hand up and inside my panties.

Finding me soaked, he growled, “So fucking wet for me already.”

He pressed his front deeper into my back, and I felt his erection at the top of my ass. His fingers pressed against my clit. “This—do you like this?”

I wasn’t sure if he was referring to feeling him behind me or his fingers inside my panties. Since I liked both, I nodded. “Yes.”

“Show me how you like it.” He found my hand and covered it with his, guiding us down into my panties and over my swollen bud. Applying pressure, he led me to massage slow, gentle circles.

“Ford,” I whimpered.

“Tell me…tell me what you like.”

“More…”

He increased the pressure over my fingers and pushed deeper into me. My eyes drifted closed, but I felt him watching me intently from the side. He steered my fingers lower, toward my opening, and then coaxed two inside of me. His hand stayed over mine as my own fingers moved in and out of my pussy.

“Does it feel good? Tell me…”

“Ford…” I opened my eyes, feeling the familiar wave start to come over me, and he pushed one of his fingers inside along with my two. He used his thumb to reach up and rub my clit at the same time our joined fingers pumped in and out. I began to shatter.

“Look at me.”

My hooded eyes met his hungry ones, and I cried out.

His hand took over when my body went limp. My arms fell to my sides as he strummed every last throb of orgasm from my body. Ford scooped me up into his arms.

He kissed me while walking down the stairs. “I just want to do that to you over and over. I don’t even give a shit about my own release. It’s way more satisfying to watch you fall apart under my touch.”

I couldn’t contain my goofy smile. “I like that.”

He smiled back. “That’s good. Because I’m just getting started with our celebration.”

Chapter 22

* * *

Valentina

We’d become inseparable.

During the week, when Ford had to work, I’d go into the city for a night or two. He’d spend the days in his office, and I’d go to museums and spend time hanging out with Eve at her restaurant. Sometimes I even met him for lunch. Yesterday, I’d packed us a picnic, and we ate in the park not far from his office. At night, we went out to dinner or ordered in and ate naked in bed. Weekends we spent in Montauk frolicking on different beaches.

He’d even started to teach me how to surf—another item crossed off my My Turn list. I sucked at it, but a few tumbles in the waves always ended with making out on the sand, so it was worth it. I couldn’t remember being this happy in years.

But time was moving way too fast now. I’d sent out more than a hundred resumes and had a bunch of interviews already. Tomorrow I had a second interview at a school not too far from my house in New Jersey. The position would be perfect for me—a one-year leave replacement teaching Intro to Italian to middle school students. Though thinking about anything that would occur post-Labor Day made me feel a little sick to my stomach.

Tonight we were going to the music festival he’d bought tickets to—yet another item from my list. By the end of the summer, I wouldn’t have many things left.