Her tears spill over and slide down her cheeks. “Landon…”
I wipe the dampness from her skin with my thumb. “It was Marcus. Our house staff. His wife is sick, and he needed money for her treatment. He overheard us talking in the kitchen and sold the information.”
“He… he did?” Her eyes widen in shock.
I nod and rise, pulling her up as she stumbles into my chest. I wrap my arms around her and hold her so tight that I can feel her heart racing against mine.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” I murmur into her hair. “It’s over.”
She nods, her fingers clutching the front of my shirt.
I draw back and lift her chin with one finger until her eyes meet mine. “Now that we’ve sorted that out, can we talk about you and me?”
Her cheeks flush a beautiful shade of pink. “You and me?”
“Yes.” I press a kiss to her forehead before continuing, “I asked you to give me another chance. And I’ve seen the answer in your eyes, in the way you made love to me last night. But I need to hear it, sweetheart. I need the words.”
Her breath stutters, her hands curling tighter around my shirt. I lean in and brush my lips against her ear. “Say it. Say what I already know.”
She pulls back just enough to look at me, her eyes shimmering. “I love you, Landon.” She smiles. “I’ve always loved you. Even when I hated you. Even when I tried to forget you. But I never could.”
Her confession sears through me, and I cradle her face again.
“I love you too, Anna. I’ve never stopped loving you. Not for a single second. You’ve always been it for me. The reason I breathe. The reason I keep going. The reason I can’t give up,” I confess. And then I kiss her. Slow at first, then deeper, pouring every unspoken feeling into the kiss.
I break the kiss and rest my forehead against hers, our breaths ragged. “So that’s settled then. You and me.”
She lets out a shaky laugh through her tears. “You and me.”
“Yes,” I whisper, kissing the corner of her mouth. “Forever this time. No more running. No more doubts.”
Her hands slide up and curl around my neck as her fingers tangle in my hair. “Forever.”
And this time, the word doesn’t scare me.
It feels like home.
Epilogue
Landon
A year later
The second I step inside, I catch the soft, off-key humming coming from the kitchen, and a smile cuts across my face. My wife. I shut the door and head straight to her.
Funny how you don’t see the worth of something until it’s gone. I’d heard that line a hundred times before, but it never hit home until I lost Anna. Yeah, marriage once made me run. Not anymore. Every trace of that doubt died the moment I slid the ring back on her finger.
Now there’s only one thing I breathe for: to protect her and love her with everything I have.
Stopping in the doorway, my smile deepens the moment my eyes lock on Anna. She’s at the counter, slicing vegetables, her hair spilling loose around her shoulders. Those damn denim shorts and that thin white tank top leave nothing to the imagination. And to top it off, she sways to her off-key humming, completely unaware she’s stealing the air from my lungs, the kind of effect only she can have.
God, I love being married to this woman. I love seeing her like this. I love knowing I finally have a family to come home to—my little girl, Liala, and my wife, Anna. And with her by my side, I know this is just the start. We’ll build more. We’ll grow more. My wife and my daughter… they’re my forever.
In a heartbeat, I cross the room in long strides, my gaze locked on Anna. She barely turns, surprise flashing across her face as I scoop her off the ground and into my arms. I know our daughter is out with her nanny for her drawing class and won’t be back for another two hours.
Not enough time I know. But more than enough for me to make love to my wife and remind her exactly how lucky I’m to have her back in my life.
Yes, I’ve made love to her a thousand times, each time pouring everything into proving her what she means to me. And still, it’s never enough. I crave more. More of her, more of us, more of everything we lost and somehow finally managed to find again.
