Moving over to make space, I stretch out my legs and pat my lap. “Come here.”
Jayson lies down, his head finding a perfect resting spot on my thigh. With gentle strokes, the soft strands of his dark-brown hair settle between my fingers like they used to, back when we were just kids lying under the stars.
“I think we should talk about it,” he says after a moment. My hand stills its movements, and the silence stretches between us—not heavy or angry—just fragile, like lace made of ice. “It’s okay to talk to me about it. You don’t have to protect me.”
That breaks something inside me. “Yes, I do. You’ve fought so hard to be here. To beyouagain.”
“No matter what you tell me, I’m not going anywhere,” he replies.
I let out a breath, the kind I didn’t even know I’d been holding, and go back to rubbing his head. “I said yes.”
“I know.”
I glance down, and he’s staring straight up at me. In his eyes, I see our past and the love we shared and lost, like a tattered photograph you keep because you can’t bear to throw it away.
“I didn’t want you to hear it from someone else.”
He nods slowly.
“I love him.”
“I know, Liz.” Jayson shifts slightly, his cheek brushing against my leg. My hand cups the side of his face, fingertips sweeping the curve of his jaw. He nestles into my touch. “Just be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”
Tears slide down my cheeks before I even feel them coming. I bend over as far as I can and press a soft kiss to his forehead, letting it linger longer than I should.
Rain-cooled air sweeps through the patio, causing a chill to race down my spine and raise goose bumps all over my skin.
“I will always love you,” I whisper.
“First, last, and always,” he quietly replies.
I stroke his hair again, and for a long time we just sit there—two people who once held each other’s hearts. And maybe that’s the hardest part. Knowing that the love we had remains, even when the shape of what we once were has changed.
Chapter Fifty-One
ELIZABETH
Dreams
My senses feel sluggish,not quite ready to awaken from the deep sleep I was in. There’s a tickle against my cheek, and I slowly blink open my eyes. Everything is blurry through the grit crusting my eyelashes. Wiping it away using the heels of my palms, my vision clears, only to see darkness. Struggling to sit up, I wince when the crick in my neck makes itself known. I must’ve nodded off at some point.
“Jayson,” I say, but he’s not there beside me on the couch.
The blanket he covered me with falls off my shoulders when I stretch my arms high and yawn. I wish he would’ve woken me up. The sectional isn’t the most comfortable place to fall asleep. My sore neck agrees.
I shiver when the night-chilled air kisses the exposed skin of my shoulders and immediately wrap the blanket around me again. He must’ve also turned off the fireplace before heading in.
Unfolding my legs, my muscles groan when I stand up. I wonder what time it is. Middle of the night, probably.
Shuffling on tired feet back inside the house, I pause and look out over the courtyard when I notice the twinkling of dozens offireflies. No, not fireflies. Fairy lights. Like the ones Jayson put in our tree. When did he do that?
The paver stones are still wet from the rain, the damp tiles slick beneath my bare feet as I venture out into the courtyard. The clouds have finally dissipated, leaving behind a clear night sky sprinkled with stars that are more pronounced under a new moon. The overall ambience created feels like I’m stepping into a fairy tale.
“Elizabeth.”
I come to a dead stop, my pulse hammering wildly when a shadowy figure materializes in front of me. Everything tilts, and for a moment, I can’t breathe.
I blink once, twice, my mind trying to catch up to my heart when golden-brown eyes stare back at me, the same shade of burnished copper that would always look at me with so much love, like I was the most precious thing in his world. The aching hollows of my heart that only recently learned how to stop breaking gape wide open.
