With that, she headed out, and Lincoln and I stood shoulder to shoulder in the doorway until she drove out of sight.
Then he shut the door, turned to me, and pulled me into his arms. “I’m so fucking proud of you, hellcat,” he murmured into my skin. “You did it.”
“Wedid it,” I corrected and exhaled for what felt like the first time all day.
“Yeah, we did. We fuckingnailedthat shit.”
I laughed, but it sounded half delirious. My cheeks hurt from smiling. My eyes burned from holding back tears.
We stayed like that for long moments, his lips against my neck, arms locked tight around me, and his chest solid and warm beneath my cheek. Maybe it was leftover adrenaline, maybe itwas the steady thrum of his heartbeat that I’d come to know so well… Maybe it was the whisper of hope that had started to take shape weeks ago and only bloomed brighter today, but I’d started to believe that maybe this wasn’t fake for him. That maybe this didn’t have to end.
That maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t the only one who’d fallen.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
WILLA
When we pulledup to Holly’s that night, laughter spilled through the open windows, and my heart warmed at the sound. I used to brace myself for these evenings with Lincoln’s family.
Not because ofthem, but because of me. Because I didn’t know how to exist in this place without feeling like an impostor.
But tonight, with my fingers twined with Lincoln’s as we walked toward the back door, my shoulders were loose, my pulse steady. And for once, I wasn’t calculating an exit.
“I’m giving us five minutes before someone brings up sex or swears in front of Emma,” I murmured as Lincoln turned the doorknob.
“Five? That’s generous.”
I laughed. “You’re probably right.”
He gripped the doorknob and sent me that slow smile that did unspeakable things to my insides. “Ready to face the wolves?”
“They’reyourwolves,” I said, though my voice came out soft. Affectionate.
He brought our hands to his mouth and kissed the back of mine. “Ours.”
That single syllable made my entire body hum with a want so visceral it would scare me if I examined it too closely. Thankfully, that usual Steele-brand of chaos erupted as soon as we walked through the door, not allowing me to linger on that thought.
“If you don’t want me to burn things, stop leaving me unattended!” Chloe said from the stove, waving an oven mitt through the air to dissipate some of the smoke.
“I learned that one the hard way,” Xander called from the living room, and Chloe laughed, loud and carefree.
“How many times do I have to tell you, Chief?” she asked. “The shed was anaccident.”
“Just like you made bananas Foster andaccidentallyflambéed a placemat?” Laurel asked dryly, not even glancing up from her phone.
Chloe gasped. “You little traitor! That was supposed to be between us.”
“No…I said itwouldbe between us if you paid me twenty bucks. You didn’t.” Laurel shrugged. “The details were fair game.”
“Um, hello?” Lincoln said, our joined hands raised between us. “Your favorite son is home, and everyone is stealing my thunder.”
Holly glanced at us from the stove, a bright smile on her face. “And the saint of a woman who puts up with him.” Her gaze landed on me, and her whole face softened. “There’s my sweet girl.”
At her words and that look she sent my way, my insides went warm and gooey in a way that had nothing to do with the berry cobbler I was carrying.
“Why the hell don’t I get a welcome like that?” Lincoln asked, grabbing the dish from my hand and setting it on the counter.
“Because you didn’t bring dessert,” Holly shot back without missing a beat.
