“I love you too, Dad. Adam is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. If you ever threaten him or his band again, that will be the end of us for good. I hope you know that.”
His eyes went hard for a moment, then he gave a jerk of a nod. “Noted.”
Adam and I stayed for another few hours before we returned home. Dad was stable and had all the money to hire caregivers. I’d check in on him, but I wasn’t going to break my back to take care of him. He’d burned that bridge. Rebuilding it would take a lot more than a health scare to fix. I had my doubts he’d make the effort to repair it, but at least I’d said all the things I’d always wanted to. Now, it was up to him.
We curled up on our couch, snuggling and watching our comfort film,Train to Busan.Adam nuzzled his nose in my hair and kissed my temple.
“You okay?”
“I am. I wish things were different, but I accept how they are. Besides, I have you and your family now.”
His mouth twisted. “My family? Sorry to tell you, they’re not a walk in the park.”
“No, I mean yourrealfamily. Iris and Roddy and Callum, and Wren, and Hope, and Ronan. That family. I’m claiming them too.”
He took my chin in his fingers, tilting my face to his. “You’re right. It’s crazy I’ve never really put the words to who they are to me, but you’re right. They’re my family. You are too.”
Our love wasn’t like my mom and dad’s. We weren’t each other’s whole world, but we did make each other’s whole world a softer, happier, more beautiful place to exist in. I loved Adam easily, and each day, I learned to do it better than the last. My feelings for him were knotted around the core of me, becoming part of who I was.
I touched my lips to his. “I’ve got you buried in me deep. Don’t you see I’m yours to keep?”
He leaned into another kiss. “Stealing my song, baby?”
“Just giving it back to you.”
Adam took my face in his hand, studying my face. He took his time, examining each feature, counting my freckles, tracing the line of my lips with his eyes. Then his mouth quirked and he smiled the kind of smile that always stole my breath.
“Love you forever.”
I smiled back.
“Until we’re ghosts.”