“Where'd you go?”
“To give Cedric an earful.”
He regarded her questioningly.
She relayed the exchange she'd had with her cousin. “I may have said something about coming after him with grenades if he hurt you.”
“Have you ever seen a grenade?”
“No. But I'm committed to learning how to use them on him if he ever causes you more harm and I wanted to make sure he knew it.”
“Sit with me?” He patted the mattress beside his hip.
She lowered the bar, sat, then kissed him gently. The contact of their lips blazed with power despite its softness. The chance to kiss him again was an affirmation of life. His heart was beating. He had breath in his lungs. They'd survived.
They rested their foreheads together. She could feel their unique alchemy and the soul deep connection of their emotions.
When she sat back up, she intertwined her hand with his to keep a link between them. He was looking at her like she was a priceless jewel, and he the explorer who'd spent a lifetime searching for it.
He lifted his other arm, the one on his injured side, and winced subtly.
“Careful,” she whispered.
Resolute, he ran his fingers into her hair, smoothing it to the side. “When I thought I was dying, everything about living became clear. I was proud of the things I'd done, but I hated that I wouldn’t get to spend my life with you. Worst of all, I hadn't told you how I felt.”
“I was mad at myself over that, too. Not just today but ever since you left Maine, I've regretted not telling you how I felt. And now I want the chance to tell you how I feel first.”
“No way. I'm the one who had surgery today. I get first dibs.”
“We'll play rock, paper, scissors to decide it.”
“I hadsurgery today.”
“Scared I'll trounce you in rock, paper, scissors?”
“Fine.” They both fisted their hands.
“Rock, paper, scissors,” they chanted in unison as their fists bobbed in time, “shoot.” They both showed paper.
“Again!” Gemma demanded.
This time they both showed scissors.
“Again!”
This time they both showed rock.
“I'm taking this as confirmation that we're incredibly compatible,” Jude said.
“I'm taking this as a sign that the game has ended in a tie, and we should tell each other how we feel simultaneously. “Ready?”
He gave a nod.
“One, two,” they said in unison, “three. Shoot.”
Then they both said, “I love you,” at the same moment.
He blinked once, concentrating on her. “What was that you said?”
