Fresh sobs shake my shoulders. He holds me through them, patient and steady, until I finally run out of tears.
"Athena Capital," I say when I can speak again. "Grant, that's—they're legendary. How did you even?—"
"I know Chelsea Harrington. We served on a nonprofit board together years ago." His hand is still in my hair, his touch gentle. "I called her. Told her about your work. But Emma, I need you to understand—I didn't ask her to invest. I asked her to look at what you've built. The rest is entirely up to you."
"That's exactly what I needed." The words come out raw.
"I know." He rests his forehead against mine. "I'm sorry it took me so long to understand that."
"You understood before I did." I close my eyes, breathing him in. "You respected me enough to step back. To let me figure it out.”
His arms tighten around me. "I love you. And I don't want to fix you or change you or make you small. I just want to be part of your life. However that looks."
"I want that too." I pull back to meet his eyes. "I want to build a life with you."
I stand on my toes and kiss him. Soft at first, then deeper as he responds, his hand cradling the back of my head. He tastes like coffee and hope, and kissing him feels like the first good decision I've made in days.
When we finally break apart, both breathing hard, his eyes are bright.
"Don't leave again," he whispers.
"I won't." I press my hand over his heart, feeling it beat fast and strong beneath my palm. "I promise."
He catches my hand, brings it to his lips. "What happens now?"
I think about the email sitting in my inbox. About Athena Capital and the meeting I have to prepare for. About the twins growing inside me and all the terrifying, beautiful possibilities ahead.
"Now," I say, "I prep for the most important pitch of my life. And you—" I squeeze his hand. "I know you’ll let me do it by myself. But maybe stay close enough that I can celebrate with you when I nail it?"
His laugh is rough with emotion. "Deal."
I lean into him, letting his arms wrap around me again. Outside the windows, the city glitters in the morning light. Inside, wrapped in Grant's embrace, I feel something I haven't felt in days.
Hope.
Not the desperate, fragile kind that shatters with the first obstacle.
The solid, hard-won kind that comes from finally understanding the difference between fear and love.
Between doing it alone and doing it together.
"Thank you," I whisper against his chest. "For seeing what I needed. For giving me the chance to earn it."
"Always," he says. And in that single word, I hear a promise.
And it’s exactly what I've been searching for all along.
I just had to be brave enough to accept it.
“Before I start prepping, I need something else from you…”
Chapter 25
Emma
Ireach up and kiss him again, and this time I make sure he knows what I’m looking for.
His hands grip my waist firmly as he pulls me against him. The intensity in his eyes makes my breath catch—they're dark with desire and something deeper. Relief, maybe. Or desperation.
