“For us.”
“Yes,” she says quietly. “For the version of me I’ve found with you.”
My chest seizes with trepidation. Maybe I should have waited to have this conversation until after this trip.
“Of course I don’t want this to ever end,” she says. “You make me the happiest I’ve ever been. But I’m scared I won’t survive the collision between my old life and thisnew one.”
Ah. I get it now. “What if I stayed in Seattle close to you?”
Her eyes flicker with uncertainty.
“I can live anywhere. Most of my life has been spent traveling for work, never staying long enough to unpack. I still have a place in Seattle, though I’ve barely used it.” I take her hand and bring it to my lips. “I want to make the Pacific Northwest my home so we can build something lasting. Not to take over, but to stand beside you, to take care of you.”
The words hang between us, fragile but true.
She looks skeptical. “So, you can live anywhere in the world and you’d make Seattle home?”
“Or, Tacoma.” I draw her into my side. “It doesn’t matter where I live. Home is where you are.”
She quirks a brow. As if I’m feeding her a line. Or maybe because the thought terrifies her.
“We don’t have to solve it all today,” I assure her. “You’re going home soon and I need you to see a future with me. Not someday.Now. Not because it’s easy. Because it’sright.”
She nods slowly. Then again, firmer. “I see it. It’s hard for me to believe in fairytales, though. I’m scared I’ll let you down.”
“You won’t.”
“I’m scared of how much I want this.” Her eyes blink up at me so sincerely relief breaks through me, flooding every corner of my being.
She’s in.
I press my forehead to hers. “Me too.”
She exhales, a soft sound. I take it as full surrender.
We’re nearing our destination. As the train winds through vineyards, the land shifts from green slopes to dry canyons. Mountains rise like silent guardians built on patience and pride.
The land I grew up on is around the next bend. The wines hold time in them. Work done by hand. Lessons passed down generation after generation. Nothing loud, nothing rushed. Only quiet mastery.
Each time I return, the world settles into balance.
Maybe it’s the harmony here, old and new, humble and elegant. Tradition still alive in every barrel.
I hope Rosa comes to believe our love can grow the same way.
Even though we’re new, what we have between us carries depth. With every cell of my being, I know our love will endure if we care for it with time and heart.
My hand stays in hers.
Today is a small win, as far as I’m concerned.
For the first time in days, we’re moving in the same direction.
Chapter seventeen
Three Days Later
Iwaketotheweight of his hand sliding across my belly, anchoring me against his chest.
