The McCullagh Inn in Maine by Jen McLaughlin

from being happy.
    Our relationship had an expiration date.
    I wanted to selfishly spend as much time as possible with Jeremy, before it was all ripped away, but the game I played was a dangerous one. There were only two ways out, and one of them was a body bag.
    I wasn’t the type of person to focus on regrets, but right now? I had them. I had lots of them. If there was a way to go back, to not run away from the things I’d had all those years ago, I’d travel back in time in a split second. I’d stay by Jeremy’s side and fight for him. I never would have gone to Florida, or met Richard, or almost lost myself in his abuse. And I never would have had to kill him.
    But regrets were as useless as dreams. I stared at myself in the mirror. For the first time in years, I liked what I saw, blond hair aside. I’d done a lot of bad things over the course of my life, but this time, I wasn’t just moving forward. I was taking a stand to fix things. I was accepting responsibility for my actions, and I was righting the wrongs I’d inadvertently committed.
    For the first time, I wasn’t running from anything.
    Not even Jeremy fricking Holland.
    He knocked on the bathroom door. “You still showering, Chels?”
    I lowered my fingers from my lips, eyeing my damp hair and the tiny towel wrapped around my body. My pulse sped up at the sound of his voice. “No, I’m out. You can come in.”
    Jeremy opened the door slowly, peeking his head through. When he saw me standing there in next to nothing, he tossed the envelope he’d been holding onto the counter, crossing the room with heated green eyes full of seduction. He wore a pair of sweats and nothing else.
    He gripped the towel and raised a brow questioningly. I shrugged, and he undid the little knot I’d made to keep it in place. As the towel fell to the tile floor, he pulled me close, his hands resting on my ass, and whistled through his teeth.
    I met his eyes in the mirror. A strand of hair fell over his forehead, giving him a rakish appearance. He looked so happy, standing there holding me, that it physically hurt my heart. Looking away from our image, I buried my face in his bare chest and breathed him in like air, digging my fingers into the hard muscles of his back.
    He gently tipped my face up to his, staring down at me for a second before he lowered his face to mine and kissed me tenderly. It took my breath away, that kiss. After his lips left mine, he released me, bending to pick up the towel he’d taken off me. “I didn’t come in here to strip you, believe it or not.”
    I wrapped the towel around myself, trembling. “I wasn’t exactly complaining,” I said dryly.
    “I know.” He dragged his hand through his hair and reached for the envelope he’d tossed as he came in the room. “This came for you from the DMV.”
    My heart pounded in my ears, and I took it, feeling the envelope. Sure enough, something hard and rectangular was inside. “Oh.”
    He locked eyes with me, brushing my wet hair out of my face. “What’s in it?”
    “Nothing. It’s nothing at all.”
    He frowned. “You’re going to talk to me eventually.”
    “I know. Later.” I bit my lip, staring up at him, making sure to hide any emotion. “Okay?”
    For a second he looked disappointed, but then he gave me a tight smile and nodded. “All right. I’m going to hop in the shower. Want to go to Ollie’s for dinner? We can get some takeout for Paul and swing by the hospital afterward. Then we need to go to Lowe’s and pick out a chandelier for the foyer. Were you still thinking the elegant one, with the crystals and silver?”
    “Yeah, I think that’s the way to go. It’ll match the old charm of the house.”
    He nodded. “And Chels—”
    “I know,” I said. “Later.”
    After the shower started, I took a second to grieve for what might have been, and then I tossed the envelope that held my new ID in the garbage, not even bothering to open it. There went my new start, in my inn