That’s when he kisses me like he believes it.
Later,when we’re under the covers, wrapped around each other, the world feels smaller.
Safer.
His arm is heavy across my waist. Protective without being tense.
I trace the line of his shoulder.
“Saint?”
“Yeah?”
“You can stop being the shield,” I say. “I can stand with you.”
He turns his head and looks at me for a long moment.
Then he nods.
And for the first time since I’ve known him…
He sleeps.
Really sleeps.
No alarms in his body.
No war behind his eyes.
Just us.
When I wakein the middle of the night, he’s still there.
Still holding me.
Like he finally understands:
This isn’t something he has to defend.
This is something he gets tokeep.
100
Saint
Idon’t wake up in a panic.
That’s new.
I wake up because the house is breathing.
Because there’s a small sound down the hall that means Emmy is awake and about to announce it to the world.
Because Laney isn’t beside me.
For one sharp second, instinct flares.
Then I hear her voice.
