Page 16 of Five

The sun is shining—how could it not when the love of my life is coming home?—so I throw the curtains open and take in the—

Hey. Why is Kate here?

Outside my window, on the other side of the massive side yard, is an older silver BMW I recognize as the one Ford gave Kate for her last birthday.

But that’s not Kate getting out of the car. It’s Five.

How can it be Five? His plane hasn’t even landed yet.

I open the window to yell out at him, but he’s so quick. He’s practically running into my dad’s shop.

Five Aston came home early and didn’t even call me. Did he get in this morning? No, that can’t be. There’s only two non-stop flights a day from London. And today’s first flight won’t get in until later.

Which means he got home last night.

What the hell?

I grab yesterday’s jeans off the floor, tug them up my legs, and then rush outside barefoot.

It takes me a few minutes to cross the gravel driveway because gravel and bare feet don’t really go together. And by the time I’m about to open the door, Five swings it open, jumping back in surprise when he sees me.

“Rory,” he says.

“When did you get home? How come you didn’t tell me? And why are you out here sneaking around in the shop?”

“Jesus,” he says, smiling that winning Five smile at me. “How about a ‘hello’ first, Princess? Or an ‘I’ve missed you?’ Or better yet,” he says, placing his hands on my hips and tugging me close, “a kiss.”

A kiss. Yes. This is it, Rory! Your big moment with Five is here!

My hands go up to his face out of instinct. I place them on either side of his perfectly square jaw, and lean up on my tiptoes.

Our lips touch and there’s that spark. Exactly the way I remember it the first time he kissed me on Christmas just before he left for Oxford.

He pulls back, his hand slipping under my pink nightie top and hooking into my belt loops.

“Princess,” he says. “God, I’m so glad to see you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home last night?”

“I just got in.”

“Liar!” I say. “There’s only two flights a day. I have been stalking this stuff for eighteen months!”

“It was a…” He stumbles for words. “A private jet.”

“Wow,” I say. To call me stunned would be an understatement. “When did your dad get a private jet? He always said they were pretentious.”

“It wasn’t his,” Five says, and then quickly adds, “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m finally here.” He tugs me close, so our hips touch, flashing that grin at me that makes me forget about the entire world and just melt.

“You’re here,” I sigh, leaning my cheek up against his chest. “I can’t believe it.” I love his smell. I’ve missed it so much, I might start crying. And then… “Why are you here?” I lean back a little so I can look him in the eyes. “I mean, at the shop?”

He looks around for a few seconds, like he might be about to lie.

“Five? What’s going on?”

“I was just thinking… you know.” He shoots me a grin.

“What?”