HI AGAIN!!!!

Writing this scene was like slipping into a daydream I didn’t want to end.

I had to pause more than once just to take a breath, to smile, to let my heart catch up with my fingers. Because this moment, this after moment between Samantha and Mason, wasn’t just about passion or heat.

It was about connection!!

Quiet, powerful, undeniable connection.

They haven’t said I love you yet, and maybe they’re not ready to. But it’s happening.

The kind of falling that doesn’t need words because it’s in every glance, every touch, and every unsaid thing that still feels louder than a scream.

They’re crashing into something real, something deep, and I swear I felt every second of it as I wrote.

There was something so tender about Mason in this chapter.

We’ve seen him dominant, we’ve seen him possessive, and we’ve seen him guarded. But here?

He lets the mask slip. Just a little. Just enough to show Samantha, and us that this isn’t just a fling or a fantasy. This is him, opening a door he’s kept closed for years.

And Samantha, in her softness and strength, walks right through it. No hesitation. No fear. Just raw, aching want to be seen, to be wanted—not just for her body, but for her soul.

And that necklace… sigh.

Symbolism gets me every time. It’s not just jewelry. It’s a promise.

Not one made with pressure or control, but with a quiet kind of longing. You don’t belong to anyone. But if you ever choose to… I’d keep the key.

Ugh. Cue the swoon. I didn’t even know I needed that line until it came out of him. Mason doesn’t say much, but when he does—it matters.

And Samantha… my sweet, stubborn, guarded Samantha. She’s starting to let herself feel again.

Not just the fluttery kind of feeling, but the terrifying, real kind. The kind that roots in your chest and makes you want to hope. For her, that’s huge.

Her thoughts, her hesitations, her quiet observations—they’re the heartbeat of this story. And tonight, that heartbeat got louder.

I won’t lie—I felt giddy writing it. Like the kind of giddy that makes you kick your feet under the covers at night.

The kind that makes you bite your lip and reread a paragraph like ten times because you can’t get enough of the way he looks at her or the way she tries to play it cool and completely fails.

The kind that makes you believe in that intoxicating, soul-shaking pull between two people who didn’t mean to fall—but now have no idea how to stop.

And maybe that’s what I love most about them. They’re messy. Complicated. Raw. But they’re also so real.

They don’t say the perfect things. They don’t always get it right. But they feel everything deeply.

And they’re learning, one stolen kiss at a time, how to trust again. How to stay. And that’s what makes this chapter one of my favorites so far.

So if you felt your heart beat a little faster while reading, if you caught yourself smiling like an idiot or tearing up or fanning your face—same.

I was right there with you. Every word of this came from a place of absolute love and emotional chaos, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Thank you for letting me share this slow-burn rollercoaster with you. We’re just getting started, and trust me—it only gets deeper from here.

With all my giddy, blushing, heart-squeezing love,

O.J