Her voice catches.
“And you all saw the aftermath of that.”
I nod, brushing my thumb gently over her hip. “Yeah. But we also saw you rebuild.”
She exhales shakily, curling in closer.
“You don’t have to have it all figured out,” I murmur. “You don’t have to know how you feel about him, not yet. You just have to let us stay beside you while you figure it out.”
She’s quiet for a moment.
Then she whispers, “I don’t deserve all of this.”
My chest aches. “You do. You always have.”
Her fingers fist into my shirt, anchoring herself. Like a part of her wants to believe she can have it all without losing any of us in the process.
“I don’t want to lose any of you,” she whispers.
“You won’t,” I promise.
I press a kiss to the top of her head, letting my lips linger there.
“Not now,” I murmur. “Not ever. I love you.”
She stills.
Then slowly, she pulls back, just far enough to look up at me—really look. Her eyes shimmer with unspilled tears, and a small, disbelieving smile curls at the corners of her lips. Itlights up her face. And I want to hold her tighter and never let her go.
“You love me?” she whispers.
I nod, my fingers brushing a lock of hair from her face. “So much it makes my chest hurt.”
A tear slips free, sliding down her cheek. But she’s still smiling, soft and radiant and completely real.
“I swore I wouldn’t fall again,” she says, voice barely more than a breath. “I told myself I couldn’t afford to love anyone. Not after what happened with Landon. Not after how much it broke me—and how much I blamed him.”
Her hand lifts to rest against my chest, over my heart, as though she needs proof it’s really beating for her.
“But here I am,” she continues. “Falling helplessly in love with you.”
I inhale sharply, everything inside me going still. She didn’t have to say it back. But I’m really glad she did.
Her smile deepens, her eyes shining. “With all of you. Carson. Graham. You. I love you all. And I don’t want to fight it anymore.”
I cup her face in my hands, reverent. “You don’t have to.”
She leans in, brushing her lips against mine, soft and sure. And in that moment, everything else falls away. No past. No pain. No uncertainty.
Just her. Me. Us.
And the love we’re finally allowing ourselves to hold.
CHAPTER 60
Willow
Hunter’s kiss still lingerson my lips when I pull back, breath shaky, skin flushed with something deeper than just the warmth of my nest.
