She crosses her arms, resting them on top of her knees and resting her chin there. “A business transaction. I can get on board with that. I want the terms, the benefits, and… probably the duration.”
“You let me love you. As a benefit, I’ll spoil you every day for the rest of your life, which I plan on doing forever.”
She chuckles, and everyone turns to look at us. “Oops,” she says, covering her mouth.
“We’ll be in the backyard if you need us,” I say, standing up and pulling Siobhan toward me.
“You’re a bad influence,” she argues.
“Why are you still fighting me?”
Her lips twist from one side to the other before she lets out a loud breath and says, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I think you feel something for me, but you don’t want to admit it.”
“You’re arrogant.”
“But I’m also right,” I argue.
“It’s scary to do this. I feel like if I don’t guard myself, I’ll fall and smash my head and my heart against the floor when it’s over.”
I take her by the waist, holding her close to me. “You frighten me. No one has ever made me feel like I’m burning from the inside out when we’re together. I ache for you when you’re not close. You’ve become the most important person in my world. Why lose more time trying to figure out if I’m being honest when you can just let me in and experience what I feel for you?”
“What if I want to stay in Luna Harbor?”
“We might want to build a bigger house,” I propose.
“Your life is—”
“You are my home, and my life has been with you since the day we met. I just didn’t understand that until now.”
“It’s scary,” she repeats.
“We’ll hold each other through this journey. Neither one of us will ever be alone—never again.”
She closes her eyes briefly, and when she opens them, she smiles. “Let’s do it.”
“Are you sure?”
“If I hadn’t been avoiding you, maybe I would’ve seen how incredible you are from the beginning. Even when you didn’t realize it, you helped me heal.”
“We healed each other,” I say before taking her lips.
It’s a kiss full of hope, promises, and dreams.
ChapterThirty-Eight
Siobhan
“How are you holding up?”Nydia asks as I help her harvest her lavender flowers.
She usually has people who come help her, but they only work eight hours a day. This crazy woman doesn’t know the meaning of breaks. More so when her husband is away on a dangerous mission. I don’t blame her. If it were me, I’d be restless too.
And maybe that’s also why I’m here. It’s nap time for Rumi, and I can’tjustbe in the house waiting for her to wake up while we still don’t have any news from Anya.
“It’s been three weeks. I… is this how it was with your dad? I’m hopeful but I’m also waiting for the worst news.”
She nods. “Yes, but there wasn’t any brain activity. He just didn’t die when they took him off of life support. Anya is just taking her time.”