"Jade—"
"But tonight," Jade interrupted gently, "I told you about Marcus, the worst thing I've ever done, the guilt and shame I carry every single day, and you didn't flinch. You didn't try to fix it or tell me I was wrong to feel it. You just...stayed."
Maddox's hand came up to cup her face. "Of course I stayed."
"That's why I can say it now," Jade said, her voice steady despite the fear still sitting in her chest. "Because I trust you. Not just with the good parts, but with all of it."
She took a breath.
"I'm falling in love with you," Jade said, then laughed. "Maybe I’ve already fallen. And it's terrifying, but it's also the most certain I've been about anything in years."
Maddox's face relaxed. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Jade smiled despite the tears threatening to fall again. "So if the offer still stands?—"
Maddox pulled her down into a kiss, fierce and claiming.
"The offer stands," Maddox said, her voice husky with affection. "For you, it's always going to stand."
Jade laughed, the sound watery. "Good. Because I'm all in. I’m scared out of my mind, but all in."
"Me too." Maddox pulled her closer, arms wrapping around her. "Terrified and certain in equal measure."
"Exactly that."
Jade felt the tension she'd been carrying all day finally ease into something that felt manageable.
"Can I ask you something?" Maddox said after a while.
"Yeah."
"Are we moving too fast?"
Jade considered it. They'd known each other for three months, been sleeping together for a few weeks, and now they were saying they were falling in love.
"Probably," she admitted. "But it also feels right."
"Yeah," Maddox agreed. "It does."
Jade pressed a kiss to Maddox's shoulder. "But I'd rather be scared with you than safe without you."
Maddox's arms tightened around her. "Same."
They fell into comfortable silence again, and Jade felt sleep pulling at her, the emotional exhaustion of the day finally catching up.
"Stay," she murmured against Maddox's skin.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise?"
"I promise." Maddox's hand moved in slow, lazy circles on Jade's back. "Sleep. I've got you, baby."
Jade let her eyes close and sink into the safety of being held. Marcus's face still lingered in her mind, but now there was Maddox's steady presence and the certainty of being seen and chosen anyway.
"I love that you're falling in love with me," Jade whispered, already half-asleep.
"I love that you're falling too," Maddox whispered back.
