“You moved for me?” she whispers.
I shake my head. “I moved forus.”
She launches herself at me. I catch her.
She kisses my face, every part she can reach. “No way.”
A neighbor coughs discreetly.
Ember laughs. “Craig, this is my boyfriend. He’s moving in with me,” she says to the man at the door.
It’s unlike her to share personal details, but she’s riding a high. I understand. I am as well.
“Welcome to Back Bay,” the man says before going inside his apartment.
She gets one suitcase, and I get the other, and we roll them into her place.Ourplace.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispers. “I…just can’t believe it.”
As soon as the door is closed behind us, I pull her to me, hold her tight. “You’re my life, Ember. My home is wherever you are.”
She pulls back and presses a hand to my chest. “But you love Stanford. You had everything there.”
“I have everything here,” I say simply. “I haveyou.”
She kisses me.
And just like that, the ache of distance, the cold silence of missed time, and all the weight of what we could’ve lost—melts away.
“You know,” she murmurs, head tilted, “you’re just assuming you can move in here?”
My lips twitch with amusement. “You’re right, I should’ve asked.”
“You should have,” she says in mock seriousness.
“You know what, I’ll just go on my knees and do it.”
My hands are under the elastic of her running shorts, cupping her bare ass.
“You just like to eat me,” she says primly.
“I do. And I’m going to do it all the time now.”
I haul her up to me, and she wraps her legs around my waist as I walk her toourbedroom.
CHAPTER 35
Ember
We’re late. Mama is going to go all supernova on our asses.
“Remind me,” I say, as we walk toward the warmly lit chalet, “why we took the long, scenic route when we could’ve just…not?”
Ransom smirks beside me. One hand holding mine, the other our suitcase. “Because I wanted to enjoy the view. There’s something about driving on the edge, the steep fall, don’t you think.”
“It’s very romantic,” I deadpan.
He grins. “What can I say? Near-death experiences bring people closer.”
