“You didn’t give me a lot of time to prepare, but I think they turned out well.” She slipped her hands to his waist.
“I’m guessing it wasn’t one of those sexy holiday cards you were working on.”
Selena laughed. “Hell, no. It’s from an old picture that I found of your parents together on your couch.”
“Sounds perfect.” He squeezed her closer. “Have I told you I’m falling in love with you all over again?”
“Me, too, Jace,” she said. “It’s so soon, but it’s happening. Like all these feelings were still buried inside me, waiting for you to walk back into my life again.”
“Itowedyou back into me life,” he corrected her with a smile.
The kitchen was empty, so he bent down and kissed her. It was soft and private, and yet it wasn’t about sex. The kiss was like a spell, wrapping around them, connecting them back together. It was full of love, love that Jace had shut down, buried for years, tried to forget. But now with Selena in his arms, the feeling ofthemwas both fresh and familiar, both magical and real.
When he pulled back from the kiss, Selena’s eyes were dewy with the hint of tears. “I want this, Jace. So badly. All of it. All the things we couldn’t give each other nine years ago. We can do it now.”
“I want this, too,” he said, his voice coming out rough. “We’ll get it right this time. But first, let’s go into the dining room before anyone comes looking for us.”
*
It was late afternoon by the time they turned down Selena’s street, and the snow was falling everywhere. Jace parked in her driveway, and they waded through newly formed drifts to her front porch. The sky was darkening, and white lights glowed from inside the house. Selenastole a glance at Jace, bundled in his winter clothes, his hair messy and his mouth turned up into a hint of a smile. It was still hard to remember that this was real.
In his parents’ kitchen, with Jace’s arms around her, she had started to believe, really believe they’d get it right this time. She could go to sleep wrapped in Jace’s arms and wake up with his big, hard body pressed against hers. Every day. Maybe they could have a loud, fun family of their own, with mini-Jaces running around, or maybe it would just be the two of them, carving out a future together. But for the first time in years, she was ready to dream.
They shuffled inside the house, stomping off the snow from their boots and shedding their winter layers. As Selena hung up her coat, Jace came up behind her. He swept her hair to the side and kissed her neck.
“You’re awfully quiet,” he whispered.
“Just thinking about us.”
“Us naked together, or the future of us?”
Selena turned around and smiled up at him. “Both.”
Jace’s eyes were bright with happiness. Her heart squeezed in her chest. More than anything, she wanted to be a part of that happiness.
“I want to stay here,” she whispered. “Here in Sacred Harbor. I wantus.”
Jace let out a whoop of joy, and then she was off her feet and in his arms, heading up the stairs and down the hall, toward the bedroom. He lay her on the bed and climbed up over her. She slipped her arms around him, pulling him closer, letting everything else fade except for his warm body, pressing against hers. He rested on his elbows and peppered her cheeks and nose and lips with kisses.
“I love you, Selena,” he whispered. “I don’t think I ever stopped loving you.”
She looked into his eyes, giving him the whole, simple truth. “I love you, too.”
He was hard against her, but he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get undressed. And neither was she. The dinner with his family, the quiet drive home, with their hands laced together, the snow falling outside the window, covering everything, the feeling ofthem—all of it was magical. She wanted to hold onto this feeling forever.
Chapter Sixteen
one year later
Jace looked down at the suitcase, lying on the bed in front of him. Most of it was stuffed to the brim, with the exception of a small corner.
“I can’t fit all my clothes into that little part of the suitcase,” he called through the bathroom door to Selena. “Are you sure the other one is full?”
“It’s hot in Mexico, even in December,” she called back. “As long as we have our bathing suits and a couple T-shirts, we’ll be fine.”
He pulled out a few, neatly rolled shirts, new and much too small for either of them. Underneath were books. “What is all this other stuff?”
“Christmas presents. I tried to keep them small, but Lizzie and I went a little crazy at the bookstore in town yesterday.”
