“I loveyou, Declan Sanderson,” she whispers. “Regardless of what you do or who you are to the world. It doesn’t matter. The guy that I get to see when we’re together. The one who’s taught me how to trust again. The one who I fell for while working on an economics project. That’s the only Declan I’ll ever need.”
I tilt my head up and press a soft kiss to her lips. Then another… and another… and another. Taking in each word.
She only needs one thing from me. To be the guy she fell in love with… and I think I can do that.
I grab her face to kiss her harder, turning my mind off and sinking fully into this. Into her. Into us.
Her thumb grazes across my lips as she pulls away, and when I open my eyes, I’m greeted by her warm smile. The tension that was there when I first arrived has dissipated, and we’re both content… because how could we not be when we have each other.
“There’s one more thing,” I whisper, and she cocks her head.
“What?”
I take a deep breath and then bare my soul to the only girl I’ve ever met that’s worth it. “I love you too.”
thirty-five
Ember
February
You guys are disgusting, you know that?” Brinley fake gags, eyeing me on Declan’s lap. Which is only happening because we’re all cramped into a booth, and there’s no room otherwise.
“You’re just mad you aren’t in love,” Declan teases, and her face twists with disgust.
“If this is what love looks like, I don’t want it.”
“Not everyone in love is like this,” Brooks interrupts. “I mean Liv and I—”
“Are way out of the honeymoon phase,” Zeke cuts him off. “These two are still freshly in it.”
“And how much longer will this last?” she wonders. “I know I wanted them together, but I didn’t think about having to witness their PDA.”
“Depends. My mom said it can last anywhere from six months to a couple years.”
“Great, so I have anywhere from two months to two years. Thanks, Zeke.”
“Hey, don’t act like you and Alex aren’t all flirty when you’re together,” Declan argues.
“Alex and I aren’t flirty; we’re just friends.”
“We’re just friends,” Declan points around the table, making sure to exclude me. “You guys are flirty.”
“You’re definitely flirty,” Maia confirms. “When you guys were here last week, I thought you were gonna jump each other’s bones across the table.”
Brinley’s eyes dart to the person at the end of the booth before she looks up at Maia.
“We weren’t. We’re friends. I told him I’m not looking for a relationship, and he respects that.”
“Bullshit,” Brooks snickers. “Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve whined about not being in a relationship.”
“And Alex seems like a stand-up guy,” Declan adds.
“Stand-up guy?” she wonders. “What are you, fifty?”
I know what she means, though. She’s always wanted a relationship with a particular person. The one sitting across from me at the table. The one who’s off limits.
“Sounds like someone trying to avoid the topic,” Zeke says. And that’s when it hits me that Jaxon has been unusually quiet during this conversation.
