“Frustratingly so.”
“Caring and devoted.”
“Very much.”
“And you love him.”
The admission should strike me like a lightning bolt. Shouldscare me. But I can just feel my heartbeat race again, because I’ve known it for a while. I don’t know when exactly it happened, but I fell in love with Diego even after he made me promise we couldn’t get feelings involved. In the midst of the games and lies, I fell so hard for him that I kept denying how intense my feelings were until now.
I take the time to dry my hands and put the towel back on its hanger. When I turn around, Mom is watching me with rapt attention, but my gaze finds Diego across the room. He’s standing in front of the wall where pictures are hung, studying each one of them, a glass of champagne in one hand as the other rests in the pockets of his pants.
“I think I do,” I admit, in a soft whisper, almost inaudible. “But it’s too soon.”
Gently, Mom cups my face. “Sweetie, just because you fell hard and fast doesn’t mean it’s not real. Sometimes, the fall is unexpected, but it leads to the greatest love story of your life. Tell him before he slips through your fingers.”
And as he finds my gaze, I decide that she’s right. I’ll be telling him soon. Whether he’s leaving or not.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
DIEGO
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
I wasn’t supposed to feel this way. Wasn’t supposed to fall so hard for Alara.
The feeling crept up on me, unexpectedly, and swept me off my feet, as if I’d been standing in the surf during a tempest, and the reckless waves had pulled me out toward that abyss of devastation. I didn’t stand a chance against this magnetic force.
She’s caressed all the invisible scars and the indentations around my damaged heart, bringing it back to life. That soft touch has made me feel loved. Seen. There isn’t a shadow of doubt that Alara will always be theonlywoman who shows me where the light shines through when I lose myself behind stormy clouds.
And now I’m fucked, but also completely, undoubtedly, irrevocably hers.
It’s the day after Christmas, and Alara is currently sleeping next to me. My fingers trace idle circles on her bare back, the light filtering through the high windows casting a kaleidoscope of golden twinkles on her angelic face. It’s amazing how her skin welcomes me like it’s known me forever, goosebumps appearingin the wake of my touch. I continue to draw featherlight shapes up her shoulder blade, like a brushstroke on a canvas. Taking the time to study her features, I lift my index finger to lightly caress her brow, down to the bridge of the nose I love so much, down to those lips I constantly dream of.
She’s unreal. So, so beautiful.
“What are you doing?” she whispers, her lashes fluttering. It takes a few seconds for her vision to adjust, but when her eyes lock to mine, I’m pretty sure I’m unable to breathe.
“Looking at you.”
“Why?” I’m fascinated by the way she blushes.
I take a shaky inhale, tucking strands of hair behind her ear. “Because, Alara, when I look at you, I don’t understand how someone could ever stand in front of you and not see what I see. And do you know what I see?” She shakes her head, her eyes brimming with emotion. “I see an entire universe, an entire galaxy within you. I see so much strength and beauty and courage, and I feel so lucky to be the one who’s managed to look deep enough to see all of that.”
I have no clue where all that came from, but it’s nothing short of the truth.
Her pupils are dilated as she flicks her eyes back and forth between mine, searching for a lie, but she won’t find any. She reaches out to caress my cheek, and I notice how she’s trembling. Leaning into her touch, I close my eyes, and then her soft lips are on mine, stealing my breath straight out of my poor lungs.
Through the kiss, I pour out a multitude of other feelings I’m not ready to confess yet, but with every caress, every swipe of my tongue, every breath, I let her know.
She murmurs my name against my mouth, but I interrupt her. “I have something for you.”
When she sits up, she pulls the sheet up to her chest. I admire all the hickeys I’ve left on the swells of her breasts.
She rolls her eyes. “Stop smiling like that.”
“You’re telling me I’m not allowed to look at my work of art?”
I duck out of the way as she chucks a pillow in my direction. I laugh, but when it almost lands on Tabby and makes her dart down the stairs, I follow the cat. “I know, Tab, your mama is mean.”
