“Yes.” She smiles, and my whole world spins again. No hesitation. She means it.
“You know,there was something I didn’t tell you earlier, when you asked me if I would be willing to embrace my fears and give us a try.” I spin her away from me and back into my arms as the slow song continues. Tonight has been a dream with Natalie by my side, smiling, laughing, talking to her about all the parts of this job that make me whole. People love her, but not more than I do.
She looks lighter today, as if the weight of the world she’s been holding was lifted. I don’t want to say it has to do with me, but I sure hope it does.
“And what was that?” I ask.
Her hand is resting easily on my chest, her wide hips swaying to the beat of the music. “That I love you.”
“Oh, that’s so ni—”She what?“What did you just say?”
She smiles knowingly. “Just the truth.”
I drag her off the dance floor, smiling as we run past very concerned-looking people, and when I find a quiet hallway, I spin, pinning her against the wall with my stare. “Natalie Bradshaw, what did you just say?”
She draws her bottom lip between her teeth. “I love you.”
“Say it again.” I’m going to make her repeat those words over and over again, just like she made me say it wasn’t my fault the day she healed the piece of me I hadn’t been able to reach.
“I love you.”
I close my eyes. “Say it again.”
“I love you.” A giggle escapes her, as if she said the funniest thing. Her hands grab my face, urging me to open my eyes. “I mean it.”
“When? When did this happen?”
She shrugs. “In the words of John Green,slowly, and then all at once. It was like slowly filling up a bucket. You poured in, drop by drop, until it was full, and everything made sense.”
“What did?”
“That I loved you more than I feared falling in love with you.” Her smile softens into the picture of her I want to frame. The way I want to see Natalie forever—happy.
My thumb brushes her cheekbone, feeling her soft skin as she widens her smile.
“You love me?”
“I love you.”
My eyes dip to her lips, my hand holding her chin as my lips crash into hers. It’s soft and a little bit desperate as her hands dig through my hair, tugging and then holding me in place. This moment is passionate, full of need, and just perfect.
Like she is.
“I love you,” I whisper against the smile on her soft lips, returning it before digging in again, claiming her lips as mine.
57
BEGIN AGAIN
State Of Grace (Acoustic Version) (Taylor’s Version) By Taylor Swift
Natalie
“So, you two made up,”Bella’s voice comes from somewhere really near me. I open my eyes and flinch; my head is resting on a sleeping Holden’s chest, in my living room. We fell asleep. No, no, no.
“Um, hi.”
“Good morning, Mom.”
