The second my half-sister sees me, her eyes widen, and even if I can’t hear her, I see her mouth form the words “Oh, shit!”
“Oh, shit, indeed,” I drawl when I reach them.
Taylor gasps and spins around. “Darius. What are you doing here?”
“Do not let anyone interrupt us,” I say to Allie before turning to Taylor. “We need to talk.” I grasp her arm, tugging her along, leaving Allie behind. She’s Micah’s problem now, and I can only imagine he’ll be less than thrilled to hear that these two came here to willingly offer up information.
Two steps forward, I notice a sign with the words Supply Closet on one of the doors on the left. I move there, pushing the door open, and dragging Taylor inside before slamming the door shut. “What have you done?” I demand answers, spinning around to her. “I’ve spent all this time keeping you protected and you decide it’s a good idea to walk in here of your own free will.”
“I did what I had to do,” she states, crossing her arms, holding her ground. “I won’t fear the tabloids anymore, Darius. I refuse to. And now they have no leverage over me. There’s nothing else to tell that I’m afraid they’ll find out. It’s all out in the open.”
“What did you tell them?” I clench my jaw, thinking of all the repercussions that will likely come from her honesty.
“I told them about my past, about Shawn. But more important, I told them about us.” Her voice begins to soften with each word, eyes becoming gentle. “I told them what you did for me.”
I frown at her. This conversation is not going how I expected it to go. I was furious on the drive over, but now, seeing her looking at me this way, with such peace on her face, my anger is gone. “What did I do?”
Tears fill her eyes, and her voice shakes. “You bought all of my favorite places. The ice cream…the books…the burgers. You wanted things to stay the same for me.”
I swallow deeply, feeling an odd warmth fill me. “They’re your favorites.”
“I know they are.” She gives me a sweet smile. “But explain this all to me. Why would you do all that for me and not come after me when I left?”
“Because I wanted you to leave. I wanted you to find your own life,” I tell her, now admitting a truth, even though I know it’ll make her look differently at me. “I know what you’re thinking here. That I bought all these things for you, but I did that for me, too. I’m selfish. I bought all those places so that I had something of you in San Francisco. So that I could drive by and remember the times we had. So that I could remember you. It had nothing to do with making you happy. It was always about me.”
I can’t lie to her.
She takes a step forward, heating the air between us. “No, Darius, that’s not true.”
“It is.”
She’s this close now, and it’s taking everything inside me not to yank her against me, when she adds, “That’s love. That’s what you do when you love a person so madly that you need something to remind yourself of them.” She wipes another tear and then gently adds, “I realized something after I learned you bought all these places, and from knowing what I know of your mother, I finally saw that I made a really terrible mistake by leaving.” I can barely breathe, my heart hammering as she adds, “I didn’t see it then. I don’t know why. Even when I came back now I didn’t see it, but it’s all I see now.”
“What do you see?” I manage.
“That you need me to stay. That you need me to tell you this is the life I want. That you need me to say that you’re all I want, too.”
My throat is tight. “I do not need that. I want what’s best for you.”
“Which is being with you.” She steps even closer now, staring up at me with so much warmth, pressing her hands against my chest. “Darius, you’re everything that makes this world good. All that you do, all that you are, amazes me. There’s nothing I want more in this life than you.”
She’s cracking something inside me. A wall I never knew was there. But in this moment of weakness, I don’t fear what I feel, I relish it. “I don’t want to change you.”
“You have changed me,” she retorts, placing her warm hands around my face. “You’ve changed me in beautiful ways I never dreamed of changing. But here’s the thing. I know you instinctively want to push me away because deep down you’re expecting me to leave you, somehow thinking that would be better for me, but this time, I’m saying no. I’m staying, with you.”
“But…” I begin.
“No,” she states firmly now, eyes strong and focused, as her hands grip my dress shirt tight. “I’m not leaving. You love me. And God knows I love you, too. This is our time and we’re taking it.”
I wondered what steps to take next after my father left my office, and I realize now, in this moment, I don’t have to think about it. She’s right there, telling me to take her.
And I won’t ever push her away again. When I did that, her world crumbled and my world stopped, as if time no longer mattered, as if I could not exist without her.
“You’re right,” I tell her. “I do love you. Madly. Insanely. You’ve been mine from the moment I touched you. If you want me to be yours, Taylor, then I will be. It’s that simple.” I yank her into me and seal my mouth over hers.
But before I can deepen the kiss, she pulls away, cheeks flushed. “We can’t do this here.”
I turn toward the door and lock it. “Do you think I give a fuck about anyone in this building or what they think of me?”