“Declan…”
He grips me tighter. “You scare me, Claire. You have since the moment we met. I knew you were different. Knew if I allowed myself, I could fall so damn hard for you. When I found out you were Joshua’s friend, a part of me was relieved. It meant you were off-limits. Except my heart didn’t get the message.” His eyes burn into mine. “I fell for you anyway.”
My breath hitches. “You did?”
“Yes.” His voice cracks, low and rough. “You make me feel things I didn’t think I was capable of. That I didn’t think I deserved. That’s why I pushed you away. Not because I didn’t want to be with you. But because I didn’t thinkIwas enough. Because I didn’t want to disappoint you like I have everyone else in my life.”
I part my lips to argue again, but he presses a finger to my lips, silencing me.
“I’d rather be scared with you than live another damn minute without you. So please, Claire. Tell me it’s not too late. That there might still be an us.”
A voice booms overhead, announcing one minute until midnight, but he doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t look away. He only waits. Raw. Stripped down. A man ready to shatter if I say no.
“You want there to be an us?”
“More than anything.”
The ache in my chest swells, threatening to burst.
“Please, Claire. Give me another chance, and I promise to do everything I can to become the man you deserve.”
“I’m not sure I can do that,” I whisper, the crowd now at three seconds.
His shoulders drop, defeat flickering in his eyes. “I know I messed up. But I swear?—”
“Because you alreadyarethe man I want.”
His head jerks up, surprise flashing in his eyes.
Then he crashes his mouth against mine.
The barn erupts in cheers as fireworks burst outside the frosted windows, everyone celebrating the beginning of a new year, but all I feel is Declan’s mouth on mine.
His kiss is raw, desperate, the kind that steals oxygen and gives it back all at once. My world curves and tilts in a myriad of different angles. Then, out of nowhere, it feels like it finally rights itself. Like this was always the way it was supposed to be.
It’s the kind of kiss that feels like a beginning and an end all in one.
When we finally pull apart, confetti rains down around us, gold and silver flecks catching in his dark hair.
“I won’t ever let you settle for pieces again, Claire.” He rests his forehead on mine, grabbing my hand and pressing it against his chest. “You have me.Allof me.”
“And you have all of me.”
“I wouldn’t want anything less.”
His mouth claims mine again in another kiss. Not hidden. Not secret. But for the world to see.
I guess I got my fairytale ending after all.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CLAIRE
Boston in Novemberfeels like déjà vu.
The hotel lobby glitters with the same chandeliers, the same polished marble floors, the same faint hum of holiday music creating a cozy ambience. Last year, I’d walked through these doors bracing myself for long, lonely nights. Filling every empty hour with work so I wouldn’t notice what I was missing.
This year is different.
