“I’ve spent years building a whole platform around the idea that everyone deserves someone who shows up,” I tell him. “And the whole time, part of me believed I wasn’t the kind of woman someone stays for.”
His hand stills against my face.
“Men like me at first. They like the confidence, the energy. But then it becomes too much—I’m too loud, too opinionated, or my body’s too big. And they start chipping at me, trying to make me quieter or make me fit into their idea of what a girlfriend should be.” I meet his eyes. “I don’t like feeling like I’m not enough—and when you disappeared in the blink of an eye and didn’t even text? It felt like you didn’t want me, like all you wanted was someone to get your sister off your back for a minute, so hey, let’s hook up in the Conservatory.”
Archie cringes but doesn’t try to dismiss what I say. “I understand how you felt that way, and I truly am sorry. I don’t want you less.” His thumb traces my cheekbone, and his voice drops low. “I want you exactly as you are. I would never ask you to be anything but exactly who you are.” His gaze holds mine, fierce. “You’re an extraordinary woman, Tessa.”
I look at him as we stand on the bridge. I believe he means what he’s saying, but a part of me hesitates. Could this be my fairy tale ending?
Archie exhales sharply, his hot breath visible in the cold air between us.
“I’m done running,” he says. “I don’t know how to be someone’s person after being alone this long. But I want to learn.” He reaches for my hand, lifting it to his face and pressing a slow kiss to my palm. “With you.”
“I want to be with you, too, Archie. I don’t need perfect,” I tell him. “I just need you to stay.”
“I’m staying. I’ll never keep anything from you ever again. I swear on my life.”
I close the distance between us and kiss him. He raises his hands to my cheek and then slides them to the back of my neck, fingers threading into my hair as he pulls me closer. I grip the front of his jacket, rise onto my toes, and kiss him the way I’ve been fantasizing about since the night in the Conservatory.
His other arm wraps around my waist, pulling me flush against him, and the warmth of his body after all this February wind makes me gasp against his mouth. My heart expands with emotion just from the way he holds me. One hand cradling the back of my head, the other pressed flat against my lower back like he’s letting me know he’s got me and isn’t letting go.
A laugh escapes my throat, thick with tears, and he pulls back just enough to look at me.
“You’re crying,” he says, alarmed.
“I’m happy.” I’m laughing, tears streaming. He looks at me like I’m the greatest gift in the world. “I’m happy, you idiot. Kiss me again.”
His tongue invades my mouth, and pleasure zings through my body as my sadness turns to the brightest happiness I’ve ever felt. He presses one of his legs between mine, and I whimper against his mouth. His hand slides under my coat, palm flat against my waist through thin fabric, and the contact sends a shock through every nerve.
“Tessa.”
“Don’t stop.”
“We’re on a bridge.”
“I don’t care.”
He groans and kisses the side of my neck, and I melt into him.
“You’re freezing,” he murmurs against my throat.
“Then let’s go somewhere where we can warm up.”
He pulls back. His pupils are blown wide, and he’s looking at me like he wants to devour me.
“My place is close,” I say, taking his hand. We walk fast, almost running, and I’m laughing again—breathless in a way I haven’t felt in years.
My fairy tale is coming true.
CHAPTER 11
ARCHIE
Do you want water? Or I think I have wine open somewhere—” Tessa reaches into a cupboard and grabs two glasses.
I cross the kitchen, gently take both glasses from her, and set them behind me on the counter without looking.
Turning to her, I cup her face and tilt it up to mine. I see the hesitation in her eyes, and I need her to know nothing is going to keep me from her ever again. “I didn’t come here for a drink. I came here for you.”
