The breeze lifts a strand of her hair and blows it over her cheek. I reach up without thinking and tuck it behind her ear. She doesn’t pull away.
“How did you find me?”
“I asked your dad.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “What?”
“I told him the truth.” My jaw tightens at the memory. “All of it.”
“Allof it?” She raises her brows.
“I left out a few details,” I say. “But he knows the important part—that I love you.”
She closes her eyes for a moment and drops her chin to her chest.
“I didn’t come here to interrupt your trip.” I step closer. “I know it’s important to you to travel and find yourself, and I meantwhat I said. I’m not going to be the person who stands in your way. I didn’t come here to drag you back to the mountain like some caveman. I’m here because I should have told you all of this before you left. If you want to spend the rest of your life moving from place to?—”
“I love you, too.”
The words stop me mid-sentence.
For a second, all I can do is stare at her.
“You—”
“I love you, Holt,” she repeats, stronger this time. “I have since before I left.”
My chest tightens in a way that has nothing to do with fear.
“I didn’t leave to see if you’d chase me,” she continues, holding my gaze. “I left because I needed to know what was out here and…”
“You didn’t think I chose you.” It hurts me to say the words, but they’re true.
She nods. “I thought you didn’t want me. I’ve spent my whole life being the afterthought, the one nobody really chose and… well, I wasn’t going to stay where I wasn’t wanted.”
“You’re so wanted,” I say without hesitation. “You always have been.”
“I know that now.” A small smile touches her mouth.
The breeze moves between us, carrying the sound of people laughing and the tide rolling in behind us.
“I thought I needed to find something that was missing,” she says. “But every place I visit, every person I meet, all they do is make things clearer for me.” Tessa shakes her head lightly. “The only place I’ve ever felt truly myself was in that cabin. With you.”
I exhale the breath I feel like I’ve been holding for six weeks.
“I want the mountain,” she says. “I want the quiet of the forest. The safety of the cabin in a storm. The life we had for a few short days.” The smile spreads across her face. “I wantyou.”
“You’re sure?” I almost don’t want to ask, but I need to be. I won’t let her shrink her life for me.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
That does it.
She stands, and I reach for her, sliding a hand around her waist and tugging her to me, closing the spacebetween us.
“You make me a better man, Tessa,” I say roughly. “A complete man.”
“With you, I’ve already found myself,” she says in response. “I like who I am with you.”
