“Perfect.” He carries me through the house, ignoring Rosa’s amused snort and Sienna’s wolf whistle.
He pushes through the French doors and sets me on my feet. Rain immediately soaks through my shirt and shorts, plastering my hair to my face, but I’m not cold. Not with the way he’s looking at me.
“Cameron!” He calls back into the house. “Hit it!”
Seconds later, slow and sweet music swells from inside.
Julien turns to me, extending his hand with exaggerated formality. “May I have this dance?”
I stare at him, water streaming down my face. “Are you insane? It’s pouring!”
“Yes,” he agrees solemnly. “And you’re beautiful. Dance with me.”
Before I can argue further, he pulls me against his chest, one hand at my waist, the other clasping mine.
I stumble, laughing. “What has gotten into you?”
“Nothing. Just wanted to see you smile.” He twirls me, sending water flying from my hair in an arc around us. “The real one.”
My feet slip on the wet wood, and he steadies me with a firm grip on my waist.
“Ready?” He asks.
“For—” I gasp as he dips me backward, rain falling directly onto my face.
The cold droplets hit my skin like tiny bursts of reality.
This.
Not safety, though we have that now, tucked away in this mountain cottage with supplies and weapons and high fences. Not food or shelter or even the absence of threat.
He lifts me upright, spinning me again, that rare full smile breaking across his features like sunrise. The one he saves just for me. My chest opens, something shifting into place that’s been broken since Pine Lake. Since before that, maybe. Since I can’t remember when.
And I’m smiling back.
The real one, like he said.
The memory of those videos I used to watch flashes through my mind—couples spinning through puddles, soaked and grinning, not caring how they looked or what anyone thought.I’d watch them on repeat, wondering what that freedom felt like. What it meant to be so present, so alive, so unafraid of looking foolish.
Now I know.
It feels like this. Like Julien holding me steady while the world spins. Like rain washing away the heavy weight on my shoulder and mind.
“I know it hasn’t been easy,” he murmurs, lips close to my ear. “These past months. For any of us, but especially you.”
I rest my cheek on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart beneath the wet cotton. “I miss her. Every day.”
“I know.” His hand tightens at my waist. “But you’re still here. Still fighting. Still the strongest person I’ve ever known.”
I meet his eyes. “I wouldn’t be if it weren’t for you.”
“Yes, you would.” He brushes wet hair from my face. “That’s one of the things I love about you. You’d survive without me. But I’m fucking grateful I get to be here anyway.”
My heart stumbles, skips. “You love me?”
He looks almost surprised. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“You’ve never said it before.”
