Karma. Karma. Karma. What am I going to do with you? My world is right there. Something so far beyond my dreams, something completely perfect, it’s on a silver platter. Yet it’s out of my reach by the width of an ocean. And all I have is a boat with a single broken paddle and a bloody huge hole in the bottom. I’ll never be able to cross it.Ever.I’ll be left here, in the distance, watching it disappear into the sunset.
“And Braxton Ames?”
His jaw clenches as he swallows hard. “He’ll have to build his own house.”
He chose me over revenge. He just… chose me.
“Where are you going to build our house?”
Theo smiles so big my heart’s reminded it never stood a chance.
“My grandfather left my father twenty acres of land in North Carolina, just outside of Asheville. It has 365 degrees of the best mountain views. The beach is a half-day drive away.”
“How are you going to fit building a house into your tour schedule?”
Taking my hand, he presses my index finger to his lips, giving it a soft kiss. “I might stick to a private concert for one.”
The decision has been made. I will take Nellie’s secret to my grave, even if that happens sooner rather than later. Oscar gets his chance at happiness. Theo lets go of his past. I get as many breaths with this man as I can possibly steal. And if the burden becomes too much to bear, I’ll get to die in the arms of the man who I was put on this earth to love.
“When do we move in?”
He chuckles. “In about a year, if I do everything myself.”
“And the interim?”
“We rent someplace nearby.”
“How do we make money?”
He shrugs. “I do some side jobs to supplement us if my savings dips too low. You most likely lift a few wallets when we run errands or look for shopping companion jobs.”
“You know me so well.” I laugh.
“Say, yes.”
Jump, Scarlet. Jump off the fucking cliff.
“I can’t have children.” This needs to be iterated. I need him to understand this reality.
“I wantyou.”
Tears fill my eyes. “I have cancer.”
“I. Want. You.” He leans forward, sliding his hands through my hair while pressing his lips to mine.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
My name is Scarlet Stone. When I was seventeen, I got in an argument with Oscar and ran away. It felt like the end of the world. The next morning I awoke curled up next to my mum’s gravestone.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I rub my eyes open. Theo comes into focus. There’s only a ghost of light filtering through the curtains. It’s early. I’m sick of sleeping in a chair but sleeping in bed is still worse, in spite of the company.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
His body swallows up half the sofa, long legs spread wide, mobile resting on his thigh,finger tapping it.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
