I consider the question.There are so many answers.The way he looks at me like I’m worth something.The way he defended me against Cesare without hesitation.The way he held me after he woke from his nightmares, trembling and raw, but not hiding his pain.
However, the true answer is simpler than all of that.
“You didn’t try to control me,” I say.“Every other man in my life wanted to own me.Mold me.Use me for their own purposes.Even Joe, the most protective brother a girl could have.He never sided with me when that meant crossing our father.But you chose to stand beside me.”I squeeze his hand.“That’s something I never thought possible.”
Shelby’s throat works as he swallows.“Serena, I was just…”
“Yes, we started this as a strategic move,” I continue, the words tumbling out, unstoppable.“A fake marriage to escape my father’s trap.But somewhere along the way, it stopped being fake for me.Or maybe I’ve been falling for you long before the night I showed up in the middle of the night and asked you to save me.”
The confession hangs in the air like smoke from a wildfire, heavy, terrifying, and unavoidable.
Shelby stands abruptly.
My heart stumbles.Have I ruined everything?Have I pushed too hard?Is it all moving too fast?
But then he’s pulling me to my feet, making the butterflies take flight in my stomach.He crushes me against his chest, his mouth finding mine in a kiss that steals my breath and my sanity.
There’s only room for feelings, deliriously delicious sensations.
So, I bury my fingers in his hair, just as he runs his hands down my spine.I rub myself against his erection, blood singing in my veins, as he moans inside my mouth.As our kiss deepens, time freezes.There’s only this precious moment where we show each other how we feel.No words.None needed.Our bodies speak the only language our hearts understand.
“I’m falling in love with you,” he says against my lips.“God help me, Serena.I’ve been fighting it for years, long before you ever asked for my help.And I’m done fighting.”
Tears prick my eyes.Happy tears.Relieved tears.
“I’m falling for you, too,” I whisper.“So deeply, so fast it scares me.”
He pulls back to look at me, his blue eyes bright with emotion.“Then, let’s be scared together.Let’s stop running from this and see where it leads.”
“Where do you think it leads?”
His answer is immediate, certain.“I want to marry you again.For real this time.A ceremony with our families, our friends.I want the world to know that you’re mine and I’m yours.”
My heart soars.“I love your plan.”
“Not yet,” he adds quickly.“Not until we’ve taken down that filthy trafficking ring.”He cups my face in his hands.“After that’s over, we’ll do this.Will you marry me, Serena Boyle?”He chuckles, using my married name to propose.
“Yes.”The word comes out choked, barely audible.I try again, stronger.“Yes.A thousand times, yes.”
His smile is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
We spend the day in a haze of happiness.
We swim naked in the ocean, the warm saltwater buoying us as we float in each other’s arms.We make love on the beach, sand clinging to our skin, the sun warming our tangled bodies.We eat salad with fried fish for lunch on the porch, feeding each other bites between kisses.
In the afternoon, Shelby sets up an easel on the deck overlooking the water.I curl up on a lounger nearby with a book I’m not really reading.I’d rather watch him paint instead.
He’s capturing the view: the endless expanse of turquoise sea, a smudge of islands on the horizon, the way the light fractures across the waves.His movements are fluid, confident, utterly absorbed.
“I want to remember this,” he says without looking away from the canvas.“This moment.This feeling.I want to capture it so that when things get hard, I’ll look at this painting and remember that happiness is real.And that’s within my grasp.”
My chest aches for this complicated, wounded, beautiful man.
“We should do this more often,” I say.“Steal weekends away.Escape the darkness.”
“Every month,” he agrees.“Let’s make it a tradition.Just us, somewhere beautiful, remembering why we fight.”
“I really like that.”
