Why would he have this with him, and did he take it to all the countries he visited? The thought that he’s kept the one thing I worked so hard to give him caused my body temperature to spike.
“You still have it.” My throat was constricting, which was fine because I had no other words.
I was still looking downward at the camera when his soft laugh reached my ears. Slowly, he moved and planted himself directly behind me. For a moment, he stood there, hovering but not touching, then maneuvered the camera in front of us. Every sense I had faded away and was replaced with him. My heartbeat kicked up again. It hammered in my chest, threatening to expose me.
Memories of every kiss, his arms around me when I cried, and the way his body pressed against mine flooded my mind. His breath skated up my neck, causing the soft curls to flutter against my skin as he flicked open the finder of the camera. I couldn’t focus with him so close.
“Tell me, Lennon—“Anything, my brain shouted at me. ”—Is everything in frame for the shot?“ Not what I thought he was going to say.
I cleared my throat. “Yes.” He pressed the shutter, capturing the sight before us.
We stayed there for a moment, hovering but not touching. “I can’t believe you still have this thing.”
He pushed the hair off my shoulder, letting his hand tangle in my curls briefly. His head lowered so his mouth was outside the shellof my ear.
“Well, I couldn’t keep you.” My breath hitched. There were warning signs flashing in my head, but I couldn’t figure out what they were trying to tell me.
It doesn’t seem to matter because, without thinking, I turned to face him.
He kept his arms low around my waist as I tilted my head back to look up at him. Everything was heavy around us, like gravity had doubled. Then he pulled me in closer and my spine melted away as his hand grazed over the sliver of skin exposed on my lower back.
It was easier here; I didn’t feel like a widow or like a woman who was lost and alone. I could be somebody who was more than the shell of a person I had once been, and that Theo could be more than somebody from my past. And for the first time, guilt was nowhere to be found.
His green eyes beckoned me in and before I could panic my way out of this moment, I reached up onto my toes and placed a delicate kiss on his lips. Years have passed since the last time we did this, but the moment our lips met I couldn’t help but think how easy it would be to fall back into what we had before.
Before I lost myself completely in the moment, he pulled back. I was thankful for his smile as it eased the tense knot that began to form in my stomach. The wind picked up and sent my hair flying around us as the sun began to sink into the horizon. He tucked a wild strand behind my ear, sending shivers down my spine that had little to do with the weather.
“Lennon, these past few weeks with you have been better than anything I could have dreamed of, I’m…” He swallowed whateverhe had been about to say next and took a step back. “We should get you back to your hotel. You have a long day tomorrow back to the States,” he said, finishing his sentence with a statement he was definitely not about to say.
I watched him carefully as he gathered up his gear, and I was desperate to hear what he had been about to say.
“Theo,” I called out to him. He turned back, and against the dropping sun, he looked like a dream I willed to life. “I thought that this was something I had to do alone. I’m grateful I had someone to share it with, that I had you.” I choked over the words, grateful didn’t even begin to cover what I was feeling. I didn’t want to leave; real life was going to be so boring after this trip.
“If you’re ever back home, you’ll call me, right?” I asked without bothering to stop myself from looking too eager.
“Right.”
“Thank you, Theo, for everything.” How could I repay someone for opening my eyes to so much I was missing out on? The two weeks I spent here had opened a door to a new life. It was so close I could taste it and all it had to offer. It had me straddling the threshold of who I was and who I could be.
“Anything for you, Lennon,” he replied with a smile that said he’d been waiting a lifetime to say those words again.
That phrase, three words, and everything changed. For years, my heart beat to the rhythm of my grief, but with those words, it seemed to change and beat to the tune of hope.
twelve
Theo
I was a wreck.Two weeks was all it took, and I was a hopeless fool for Lennon.
Again.
The kiss had been playing on a loop in my head since she walked through the doors of the airport terminal. She was so close for so long that her scent had seeped into my skin, making it impossible to remove. I couldn’t do anything without it pulling me into the past.
After she left, I started looking for a reason to bring us back together. It was proving hard to do without coming off like a super creep. All she needed was some guy following her home from across the globe.
But I wasn’t just some guy. Right?
God, I hoped Iwasn’t just some guy.
