Michael (Wild Men #8)

Chapter 31

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Emery

My lips part, but no sound comes out.

I swallow hard three times and finally, I whisper, “Michael Wild, you just rendered me speechless.”

“I’m not done yet.” He takes my chin in his hand. “Here’s the truth—I don’t want no-strings.”

“You-you don’t?” Hope—hope that we’re on the same page—is flooding my heart.

“No.” His dark eyes blaze into mine. “I want strings with you, Emery Walker. Being connected to you is the most free and the most joy I’ve ever felt in my life.”

I can’t take my eyes off of him.

“I don’t know how this is going to work long-distance or back and forth or what,” he says. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. But I don’t want to lose you on a technicality—because I was too much of a coward to go all in. So just to be clear—I’m all in, Mimi.”

He opens his arms, and I dive into them.

“I love you too,” I say against his cheek. “I’m all in too.”

“Here it is.” Michael steps back so I can unlock the door myself.

The cottage in Maine I couldn’t wait to go see.

We walk inside, and I spin around.

The ocean view from the back picture windows is incredible.

The kitchen is small and homey with a back door that leads to a gas grill on a deck.

The sitting room and dining room flow seamlessly into one another, and the master bedroom has a window seat with a wall-length window that faces the ocean.

The salty air pervades my senses.

I’m in love.

“With me or the cottage?” Michael jokes from behind me.

I turn around. “There I go spilling my secrets again.” I walk closer and give him a kiss. “I’m in love with this cottage. I’m also in love with coastal Maine. And I’m definitely, absolutely in love with you, Mr. Wild.”

And in that moment, I know what I need.

Time and space.

To figure my shit out.

Because walking away from MAA—or feeling forced out—has given me a beautiful gift. The gift of uncertainty.

The truth is, I’m no longer all in with the company I worked for my entire professional career. Fred deserves better than that. Mountain Air Advertising deserves better. The employees need someone who loves working there. Someone who’s fully committed.

When I tell Fred all of this, he sighs. “You always struck me as different, Emery. And I mean that in the best way possible. But I sensed a hesitation in you for this work. ”

“You mentioned that before. I don’t understand. I love advertising.”

“Yes, you always did. But the corporate world wasn’t ever your thing. The politics definitely weren’t your thing. You’re too honest. Too genuine. You want to solve the puzzle of a campaign in a different way than I do.”

“I suppose that’s true,” I say slowly. “I never took the time to think about it until I lost that promotion. In some ways, it was the best thing that could have happened to me.”

“Go live in your Maine cottage and figure out what you want to be when you grow up, Emery Walker.”

And he hangs up.

I smile and spin around my cottage once more.

My cottage.

Go live in your Maine cottage and figure out what you want to be when you grow up, Emery Walker.

I’m going to take his advice and do just that.

Michael puts his arms around me from behind. “You okay?”

“Better than okay. I’m so excited for our future.”

He kisses my head. “Me too.”