His answer came immediately. “Because I want you there.”
I searched his face, then smiled.
“Stay,” he said quietly. “With us. With Lily. With me.”
“I already am,” I said.
The relief that washed over his face made my chest ache. He leaned across the table and kissed me, slow and careful, like he was savoring it. Like this mattered.
It did.
Later, when we were curled together on the couch, the house quiet and soft around us, I shifted closer. We’d been careful these past months. Intentional. He never pushed. Never assumed. Sometimes I wondered if he was holding himself back for my sake.
This time, I kissed him with no hesitation.
His body stilled. “Claire,” he murmured, pulling back just enough to look at me. “We don’t have to.”
“I know,” I said, pressing a finger to his mouth. “I want to.”
He searched my face, still cautious, still gentle. “Are you sure?”
I smiled. “Very.”
That did it.
He kissed me again, deeper this time, trust blooming between us instead of fear. When I shifted us so I was the one leading, he laughed softly into my mouth, the sound warm and amazed.
“Okay,” he said, surrendering easily. “I’m yours.”
I tucked my forehead against his, smiling.
“I know,” I said. “You’ve been for a while.”
I took his hand and led him to the living room, the same space that had once held so much ache. I sat down and looked up at him, seeing not the boy I had loved but the man who had grown into himself piece by piece.
He smiled, a little crooked. “Your wish is my command.”
What followed was not frantic or desperate. It was slow. Reverent. Full of pauses and permission. He moved with a gentleness that made my chest ache, like he was honoring something sacred between us.
When I closed my eyes, I did not feel like I was losing control.
I felt like I was choosing.
And that made all the difference.
Chapter 70
Claire
Christmas morning did not begin quietly.
It began with a knee to my ribs.
Then a heel.
Then a very determined small voice yelling, “IT IS CHRISTMAS.”
Ethan groaned beside me and rolled onto his stomach. “No,” he mumbled into the pillow. “Tell Santa to come back later.”
