I walk toward her. Slow at first. Then faster. Then fast enough that she takes a small breath like she’s absorbing the impact before I even reach her.
“You came back,” I say, voice rougher than I meant.
“I had to.” She swallows, hands shaking slightly as she reaches up to touch my chest. “I kept trying to tell myself I could move on. That what we had—what we were—was just temporary. But it wasn’t. Not for me.”
She steps closer, her forehead nearly touching mine. “You’re what I kept seeing. Even when I didn’t want to.”
My chest cracks wide open.
“I love you.” The words come out broken, raw, truer than anything I’ve ever said. I cradle her cheeks in both hands, my thumbs brushing the corners of her mouth. “I love you so much that I don’t want to do life without you.”
Her bottom lip trembles, but she catches it with her teeth. “I don’t want to do life without you either.”
She says it like a vow. Like a truth she’s finally stopped running from.
“What do we do?” she whispers. “We’re on such different paths.”
“Simple.” I shake my head, jaw tight with conviction. “We make a new path. Actually, it won’t be simple at all. We’ll have to work at it. We might take a wrong turn or two and have to change our course along the way.”
I slide my thumb under her lip, pulling it free from her teeth. “But I have no doubts we’ll find our way.”
Her eyes shine. “Together?”
“Together.” I lean forward and press a kiss to her forehead, soft and certain. “So, what do you say? Are you willing to forge a new path with me?”
A slow smile blooms across her face—warm, bright, lighting her eyes in the glow of the station lights. “You know me. I’ve never been interested in taking the easy path.”
“And you have one hell of a sense of adventure.” I wrap my arms around her waist and draw her against me. “Is that a yes?”
“How can I possibly say no to a promise of a challenge?”
A low laugh escapes me—real, relieved, joyful. I lower my lips to hers, capturing them in a deep, soul-stirring kiss.
We lose ourselves in the kiss and in each other.
Like I told her, I’m sure it won’t be the only time we get lost. But I know—we’ll find our way as long as we’re side by side.
I don’t know what our future holds.
But I should probably get a passport.
EPILOGUE
EMMA
Lining up my shot in the viewfinder, I hold my breath and curl my finger onto the button.
The aperture clicks. I pull the camera back to check and the picture fills the screen. I fight the urge to groan.
“It sucks. Doesn’t it?” Aaron asks.
“No, it doesn’t,” I say, perhaps a little too quickly.
“You can be honest. I look terrible.”
“You don’t look terrible,” Selena assures him. “It’s probably me.”
“We all know it isn’t you.” He gives her a pointed look. “You’re a model, for fuck’s sake.” He pulls a face and pats her swollen belly. “Sorry, baby. Daddy will get his language in check before you’re here.” He sighs. “I swear like a fucking sailor.”
