She’s smiling through tear-filled eyes, and I laugh when she bops my nose. “I warned you about throwing all five of my names around like that.” Her eyes turn soft. “It’s June. Call me June.”
I kiss her again because I can’t help it. With a racing heart, I ask her a question I’m as terrified of as I’m desperate to know the answer to. “Are you here to stay, June?”
“I can’t live my life motivated by hate, Torin,” she says softly. “I need love and trust, and I want to be happy. Not ruled by hate. It is exhausting to be motivated by hate, and it does not make me happy. Before everything went wrong between us, you made me happier than anyone else had ever made me before.”
My heart starts racing as my mind snags on a word it skipped over before.
Hated.
Juniper said shehatedme.
Past tense.
“Torin!” Callum yells from downstairs.
“You left your car door open and the engine running, you fool.” The sound of a door slamming follows Archer’s shout.
“June is here,” I call back, not daring to take my eyes off her. It’s the weirdest feeling, and it doesn’t make sense, but I’m terrified she’ll disappear if I look away from her for even a second.
Footsteps pound up the stairs, and both Callum and Archer are out of breath as they charge into my bathroom. Their eyes widen as they take in Juniper sitting in my bathtub.
“Why are you here, June?” I ask her.
I was too afraid to ask her before. All my cursing had a purpose. Distraction. It was a delaying tactic to put off an inevitable question.
Please let her be here for good.
Her eyes flick from me to Callum and Archer. Suddenly, she looks scared and nervous, but hopeful. “I love you, and I’m here to see if I can be happy with you. Forever.”
Chapter 44
June
“June?” Torin calls out from the other side of my bedroom door.
I stand with my back to it, staring at the rumpled white sheets on my bed. “Yeah?”
“You said you were going to open the door,” Callum says.
“I did say that,” I agree.
Yesterday, I happily embraced this new life with the scent matches I have forgiven. This morning, my doubts have resurfaced. It’s perfectly normal to be wary after myotherfirst morning with them was complete and utter hell, right?
“Do you want us to go?” Archer asks.
With my arms crossed and my back against the door, I chew my bottom lip, contemplating whether I want to open it.
My sister has taken over my apartment. Callum, Torin, and Archer drove me back there yesterday to help me pack up my stuff and bring it here, but I was tired and overwhelmed, so I didn't explore much of the house.
We ordered pizza for dinner; I brushed my teeth and crawled into bed, exhausted.
But this house—and my bedroom—is beautiful. It’s all bright white walls, oak hardwood floors with splashes of green wallsand trailing plants everywhere. Like an oasis in one of the quietest parts of the city.
The downstairs has floor-to-ceiling glass walls that make it feel like the outside is flowing inside. It’s light, bright, and airy. Almost the complete opposite of the last house, which means this feels like a fresh start for all of us. It’s perfect.
Upstairs is just as gorgeous. I have my own bedroom with an insane view of the city in the distance, and all of my clothes I left at the old house are here. Callum, Archer, and Torin prepared a room for me, hoping I would come back to them, but not knowing if I ever would. There’s no nest, and I’m relieved about that. Callum asked if I wanted one, but I said, not yet. I destroyed my last nest when they broke my heart so badly I thought it would never heal again. Some wounds still need time to heal, and that’s one of them.
“We’ll come back,” Torin says.
