“I love you,” I said one last time.
“I missed you.” She tasted like salty tears. She tasted like Fallon, my Fallon.
“Don’t ever let me go,” I begged. “Never again.”
“I never did,” she whispered. “You’ve always been here.” She placed her hand on her own chest. “Home.”
“Home,” I repeated. “Thank God for home.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Zane
MY WORLD OF GRAYS and fuzzy black turned into full color the minute I walked into that room. I had no idea why.
Maybe because that room signified a moment in my life when I finally let go and allowed someone else to help.
My moment wasn’t just giving up my virginity to Fallon—it was about allowing her in.
That room was the room I had bled all over. I’d cut my soul into pieces in that room, and she had managed not to step on the ones that were still hurting. Fallon helped heal me without even realizing that was what she was doing.
That room represented everything I’d always wanted to have with another human being—but been too afraid to hope for.
I collapsed against her and then rolled off.
Her chest rose and fell with effort, and then her hand reached out for mine, fingers locked together, I closed my eyes as tears threatened to pour down my face.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“You were just lost…for a while.”
“It was a horrible feeling,” I admitted, leaning up on my elbow so I could look down at her the way she deserved to be looked at, with love, adoration, appreciation, “Staring at you and knowing something was missing but not knowing how to get it back.”
She nodded and then her face crumbled into a mass of tears as she pulled me into her arms and pressed her face against my chest. It broke my heart, it killed me, those tears weren’t my fault, but they sure as hell weren’t hers either.
“Fallon, look at me.”
She pulled back and wiped her eyes.
“I love you.”
She nodded.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“But you have concerts to do, and—”
I slammed my mouth against hers. “Come with me.”
Her eyes widened. “What did you say?”
“So I’m leaving.” I shrugged. “Come with me. That is, unless you want to clean rooms here at the resort and honestly, if that’s what you want, if this is the dream.” I smiled. “Then I’m in…we’ll figure out a way to make it work.”
“Okay.”
“Okay, you want to clean hotel rooms with me or okay you want to go on tour?”
“Okay to everything.” She smiled, it was a real smile, one that reached her eyes, one that wrapped itself around my body and squeezed until it was suddenly hard to breathe. “Since I’m home, it only makes sense that you take me with you, right?”
“Like a turtle.” I nodded. “You’re my turtle.”
“Are you sure your head is fine?” She pressed a hand to my forehead and pulled back with a laugh.
“No, actually, oh wow.” I winked. “I may need more sex. The doctor suggested as much sex as possible in order to…heal.”
“Oh?” Her eyebrows shot up. “I don’t remember seeing any of that in your discharge papers.”
“I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of the parents. Plus, your dad carries a concealed weapon, enough said.”
“True.” She kissed my mouth softly and lingered there. “Is this real?”
I linked our hands together and kissed her open palm. “It’s real.”
“When do we leave?”
Happiness surged out of me in uncontrollable laughter. “When do you want to leave?”
“As soon as we can.”
“We can stay the night in Portland…” I said aloud. “Or go hang out with our friends on the beach one last time.”
She sighed loudly. “Beach tonight. Portland tomorrow night.”
“Deal.”
“Zane?”
He met my gaze.
“I love you too.”
“Of course you do, I’m Zane Andrews.”
“And he’s back, folks.” I wrapped my arms tighter around him, needing my body to catch up with my brain—that he was with me, my Zane was with me, body and soul.
“Remember, I was just lost for a minute,” he whispered, eyes locked on mine.
“And then you found your way home.”
“I never lost faith I would, even if you did.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Fallon
EVENTUALLY, I WOULD GET over the fear that it wasn’t real—I was probably driving Zane completely insane.
I kept staring at him.
Wanting to pinch myself.
I felt so giddy I almost skipped into the resort office. Instead, I ran, tossed my keys onto the table, and left.
My boss yelled.
I didn’t care.
Zane was waiting for me outside the resort. The moon shone over the clear water; the storm had passed through.
I grabbed his hand and stared up at the stars. “It was a good night.”
“The best,” he whispered, wrapping an arm around me.
While I’d been busy quitting my job, he had been busy texting everyone about a late night bonfire in celebration of getting most of his short-term memory back.
He even invited my parents.
I was already bracing myself for the crying from my mom and the celebratory slaps on the back from dad.