Read The Reunion: Claire's Rebuilding Contract (Starting Over Series) for Free Online

saying is that we have the house all to ourselves for a few hours?” he said as he pulled her close and kissed down her neck.
     
    “Well, yes, but I was going to scrub the toilets…” she said with a snicker.
     
    “Hmm… Well, as sexy as that sounds, I don’t think I am game for that…” he said as he reached down and picked her up over his shoulder, leaving her hanging upside down.
     
    “Jack!” she screamed as she smacked him on the back over and over.
     
    He tossed her onto the overstuffed beige sofa and fell on top of her, tickling her. She screamed and giggled until she was out of breath, and then she grabbed his neck and kissed him passionately.
     
    “Are you trying to distract me?” he whispered.
     
    “Maybe…” she said against his lips.
     
    “Claire?” he said looking down at her.
     
    “Yes?”
     
    “You know that I love you, right?” It was the first time he had said it. Inside, she had known it, but she was aching to hear the words.
     
    “Now I do…” she said. “And you know I love you too, right?” she said with a smile.
     
    “Now I do.”
     
    “Jack?”
     
    “Yes, my love?” he said with a silly grin on his face.
     
    “How much longer do we have to wait?” she asked.
     
    “Wait for what?” he asked, hoping she was talking about what he thought she was talking about.
     
    “How much longer do we have to wait before I can show you just how much I love you?”
     
    “Well, you can show me that anytime you want to,” he said smiling as he softly kissed her on the lips. She slowly stood up and took his hand, pulling him off the sofa and toward the hallway.
     
    “I’d like to show you right now,” she said as she took him into her bedroom.
     
    ***
     
    It was a beautiful Fall afternoon. The leaves had just started to turn all shades of yellow, gold and orange. The sky was a brilliant blue, and clouds had vanished from its beautiful palette.
     
    Claire could just hear the faint sounds of people milling about outside of the building. She could see some men playing golf just off in the distance, but mainly she had a view of the beautiful lake that made up much of Jack’s property.
     
    “You look stunning, my girl,” Ellie said as she walked into the changing room. “You make a beautiful bride.” Ellie was like a mother to Claire, and she often appreciated her maternal instincts.
     
    “Thank you,” Claire said trying not to start crying. She had waited a lifetime for a man like Jack. As they dated the last year, he only got better. The romance only got stronger. Her love for him only increased with each passing day.
     
    “Mommy!” Aven said as she walked into the room. Having turned ten years old, she was wise beyond her years. She had told Claire that she wanted Jack to be her Daddy after they had been dating about six months. She adored him, and he thought she hung the moon. An outsider would have never known that Jack wasn’t her biological father. It made Claire ache for the kind of childhood she never had.
     
    “Hi, baby! Are you ready to be the best flower girl ever?” Claire asked smiling down at her.
     
    “Yes. I cannot wait for our wedding!” she said. “Our” wedding. That is really what it was. Joining Claire and Aven with Jack to create a new family.
     
    “Claire? It’s time,” Natalie said as she poked her head in the door. She had directed many weddings as a side job, and Claire had asked her to handle the logistics of her small ceremony.
     
    Dragging her short ivory train behind her, Claire made her way down the hall. As she heard the wedding march begin, she walked through the double doors and down the red carpeted pathway toward a waiting Jack. He was standing just beside the lake, near where they’d had their first picnic.
     
    The irony of walking the red carpet was not lost on Claire. She had gone to Hollywood in search of fame and fortune so many years ago. She had hoped to find a treasure there. She had hoped it would