"I'm listening."
My hands clench at my sides. I want to reach for her, want to pull her into my arms, but I need to hear this. Need to understand what changed between last night and this morning.
"You told me you loved me," Rika continues, tears spilling over now, running down her face. "And instead of saying it back, instead of being brave enough to admit that I feel the same way, I ran. Because I just couldn't bear to think about trying with you and failing. Because deep down, I didn't think a man could truly love me. So I ran like a coward because I was scared of getting hurt again."
Her wings spread, an unconscious gesture of vulnerability that makes my chest ache.
"But I don't want to run anymore." Her voice turns fierce, her blue eyes locking on mine with an intensity that steals my breath. "I don't want to hide. I want you, Noah. I want this. I want us, out in the open. No more sneaking around. No more keeping secrets from the kids."
From behind her, Zoe's voice carries across the driveway, matter-of-fact and slightly amused. "She's been a total chickenshit, but she's working on it."
Rika shoots her daughter a look over her shoulder that's half-exasperated, half-grateful, but she doesn't deny it.
Matthew pipes up, earnest and sweet, "Grandma threw water on her and everything."
Despite everything, despite the emotional whiplash and the terror and the hope threatening to crack my ribs open, I almost laugh.
My brain is still trying to catch up, but I take a step forward. Then some kind of invisible thread holding me back snaps and I close the distance between us in two long strides. My hands come up to frame her face, thumbs brushing away the tears on her cheeks.
"Say it again." The demand comes out raw, desperate. "I need to hear it again."
Rika's hands come up to grip my wrists. Her wings spread wider behind her in complete surrender.
"I love you, Noah Mercer." Her voice is clear and steady, her blue eyes locked on mine. "I love you so much it scares me."
I crash my mouth down on hers with all the desperate, overwhelming feelings I've been holding back.
Rika melts into me with a soft sound that's half-sob, half-laugh. Her arms wind around my neck, and I lift her off her feet, spinning her in a circle right there in the driveway.
She laughs against my mouth.
The kiss is messy and perfect, tears and laughter and relief all mixed together. It tastes like hope and new beginnings and coming home.
From somewhere behind us, Zoe's voice rings out, "FINALLY!"
Matthew's higher voice follows, "Does this mean Noah will stay?"
I break the kiss just enough to rest my forehead against Rika's, both of us breathing hard, grinning like idiots.
"Tell me again," I murmur. "I'm not sure I believe it."
Rika laughs, bright and free, and cups my face in her small hands. "I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I'll say it as many times as you need to hear it."
"A few thousand more should do it," I say and kiss her again. Softer this time. Sweeter. Full of promise.
I set Rika down carefully, reluctantly letting her go just enough to turn toward the kids.
Zoe and Matthew have ventured closer, hovering at the edge of the garage. They're watching with matching expressions of hope and happiness that make my throat tight.
"Come here, guys," I say, opening my arms. "Group hug."
Matthew doesn't hesitate. He launches himself at me with enough force to nearly knock me over. I lift him up in my arms, and he wraps his thin arms around my neck and buries his face against my shoulder.
Zoe comes into the embrace at a much more subdued pace. She tucks herself between her mom and me and rests her head on her mom's shoulder.
I wrap one arm around them all, pulling them close. Rika's hand slides into my hair, her other arm coming around all three of us.
For a moment, we just stay like that in a tangle of arms and wings and beating hearts. Something slots into place deep in my chest, something that's been missing my entire life.
