“Too late,” Brian said, staring at Leon. “She’s already been hired.”
“She has?”
“I have?”
They both stared at Brian, who nodded confidently.
“Yes,” he said. “I need a new writer, and Winter graciously accepted my offer to work with me.”
“But a minute ago, you both acted like you didn’t know each other,” Leon said.
“How about you leave my office?” Brian said to Leon. “Then you can get off of Sapphire Island, and you can never come back.”
“But-”
“Bye,” Brian waved, jerking his head toward the door.
Leon’s head fell, but he started moving, and he made his way toward the door. He muttered something as he passed by Winter, but she ignored him, and as soon as the door closed, she turned back to Brian.
“It’s you,” she whispered.
“And it’s you.”
A smile spread across his face, and Winter ran to him. She threw herself into Brian’s arms.
“I never thought I’d see you again,” she told him honestly.
“Me too.”
“I really did come here to warn you,” she said. “Although, it kind of seems like you can take care of yourself, Mr. Monster.”
“You can call me Dragon,” he murmured, petting her hair.
Winter looked up at him and shook her head.
“What happened?”
“Well, when I got to work, my brothers explained that fucking a strange woman all weekend isn’t normal unless you’re destined mates,” he chuckled. “I told them to shove it, and they said that if you made your way back to me, that it was definitely true, and that we were meant to be together.”
Winter’s heart felt fluttery and content.
“And what happened with Leon?”
“Well, when he walked into my office, I suspected that something was up. Winter March doesn’t seem like the kind of writer who just bails on a meeting,” he said with a smile.
“She’s definitely not,” Winter agreed.
“As soon as Leon started asking questions about my past, I realized what he was doing, so I pushed him down.”
“You pushed him?”
“Don’t worry,” Brian winked, “I was gentle.”
Winter couldn’t believe it. Dragon was Brian. Brian was Dragon. The guy she’d felt her heart craving was here in this office, and he seemed to think they were destined to be together. And there was something else, too.
“You’re offering me a job?”