The Stranger's Wife | Rewritten

40 ~ Love Happened

*Amelia*

The receptionist at the hotel smiled at me when I walked up to the counter. Her hair was done in a high bun and she looked classy as usual. "Good morning, Dr. Miller. I hope you slept okay with all the renovation happening. They're working late into the night to speed things up."

"I slept okay. I'm a late sleeper so the noise hasn't bothered me."

She smiled again. "How can I help you today?"

"I would like to pay for next month's stay," I said, reaching in my purse for my credit card.

"It's already been taken cared of."

I frowned and looked up at her. "What do you mean taken cared of?"

Her fingers moved like rapid fire over the keyboard in front of her."Yes, taken cared of by a... Mr. De Vries? He's paid for the rest of your stay here."

"Oh no, he did not."

"Oh yes, he did," a manly voice said from behind me. He was closer than I thought as I could smell the tantalizing cologne wafting from his skin.

My heart pounded in my chest at the sound of his deep accented voice. Although a month had passed, I wasn't ready to face him yet. I loved how everything seemed to be going so well with us. We were in a good place and I was afraid that seeing him in person would sabotage that.

I felt his hand on my shoulder. Warm. Strong. And then his lips moving against my ear as his hand traveled up to my neck. Goosebumps rose on my skin and my eyes fluttered shut when he said, Schatje, I can't tell if you're happy to see me."

My goodness, he was here and I wasn't just imagining this? "Please be real," I whispered. "Please be real."

"Why don't you turn around and find out?"

Licking my lips, I turned to face the love of my life. I liked the way love had crept up on me just by the sound of his voice ringing in my ears. Was falling in love always this calm? But I wasn't just falling in love, was I? I was in love. I loved Willem.

But when did this happen?

Maybe it had happened as he opened up to me every day for the last month. He'd shown me pieces of his soul that no one else had seen, and I opened my heart to listen to him, and my eyes to truly look at him. Maybe it happened because I didn't feel so alone with him in my life although he was a thousand miles away from me.

Maybe it happened because I decided to let love in. Because I decided to be vulnerable for a change. Because he had given me a reason to believe in fairytales once again.

Amid everything happening around me, the receptionist moving on to talk to someone else, the sound of suitcases rolling on old carpets, the ding of the elevator doors as it opened, and the hum of construction in the background, I felt at peace.

I turned around and that peace transformed into something serene as joy poured from my pores. Willem smiled, his dimple piercing his cheek and for a moment time stood still and I couldn't breathe.

He blinked, grey eyes sensual, and I jumped into his embrace, wrapping my arms around his neck. He smelled like sin and sex, like wood chips and citrus fruits.

I leaned back and then lifted my lips to meet his. His hand cupped the side of my jaw and he sighed into my parted lips before ravenously claiming my mouth with his tongue.

We stopped for a second to breathe, not caring that we were probably making a spectacle of ourselves in a public place.

"I'm so fucking happy to see you," I said before kissing him again. "So happy."