“I love you,” I said. The words came easier than I expected. “Just so you know.”
“I know.” His thumb traced my cheekbone. “I love you too.”
“Good. Because this would be really awkward otherwise.”
He laughed and pulled me back in for another kiss, deeper this time, the kind that made me forget we were on a roof in the middle of winter. His other hand found my hip and pulled me closer until I was half in his lap, his chest solid and warm against mine.
We broke apart eventually because breathing was still a thing we had to do. I settled against his chest and felt his arms come around me, holding me there like he'd been wanting to do this for years and finally had permission.
“This is nice,” I said.
“Yeah.”
“We should do this more often.”
“The sitting on the roof part or the kissing part?”
“Both. Definitely both.”
His chest moved with silent laughter. “I can arrange that.”
We stayed like that for a while, watching the stars and the city and not talking about anything important. Just existing together in a way that felt new and familiar at the same time. Like we'd been building toward this for years and were finally allowed to have it.
“You nervous about London?” Declan asked eventually.
“Little bit. You?”
“Yeah. But good nervous. The kind that comes from starting over instead of running away.”
“There's a difference?”
“There is when you're doing it together.”
I tilted my head back to look at him. “When did you get so wise?”
“I've always been wise. You just never listened.”
“Fair.”
He kissed my forehead and I felt the tenderness in it, the care he was finally allowed to show without hiding it behind practicality or distance. “We're going to be okay, Troy. Whatever comes next, we'll handle it.”
“Together.”
“Together.”
I believed him. For the first time in a long time, I actually believed that things might work out. That I might get to keep this. That London wasn't just an escape but a beginning.
The city stretched out around us, all lights and noise and history. The place that had raised me and broken me andultimately given me back to someone who'd been waiting the whole time.
Declan's arms tightened around me and I felt his breath steady against my hair. We sat there under the stars and let the cold bite at us while the warmth between us made everything else feel manageable.
“You falling asleep?” he asked after a while.
“Maybe.”
“Come on. Let's get you inside before you freeze to death after surviving everything else.”
He helped me up and we gathered the blankets, moving slow because my ribs were still protesting most movement. When we got back inside, the house felt warmer than it had before. Less like a place haunted by old ghosts and more like somewhere I could actually see myself belonging.
