Darcy was leaving, even though they hadn’t planned for her to go back to Pineford today.
More than anything, Darcy couldn’t sleep here last night. Darcy hadn’t been able to sleep here, with Juliet. It hit her so hard, it rocked her back a step.
She’dalwaysbeen a place where Darcy could rest.
“Are you…” She had to stop, to clear her throat, because her words were so strained even she could barely hear them. “Are you breaking up with me, Darcy?”
Juliet was, actually, very proud of herself for managing to get the question out without breaking. Because she felt like she was a breath away from totally shattering inside.
“No. I’m not,” Darcy stated, firmly.
Juliet’s knees actually wobbled from the release of the tension inside of her. To the point that she reached out to grip the island for support. Darcy wasn’t breaking up with her, and yet Juliet still felt, inexplicably, like crying.
She blinked up at Darcy when she came to stand right in front of Juliet.
And then she shivered, when Darcy’s hands came up to gently cup her jaw. Angling Juliet to look right in her eyes, only inches away.
“When we were having sex, you said…” Darcy paused, her warm breath washing over Juliet’s lips. “You said I’m yours.”
Juliet nodded, just a little. Not enough to move Darcy’s hands from where she was still holding her.
“Iamyours,” Darcy confessed. She blinked quickly, and Juliet realized Darcy’s lashes were wet with tears.
Juliet’s own breathing felt labored, her throat tight.
She’d said it during sex, but that was… sex. This was entirely different. This confession wasn’t about anything physical, and she felt it through her entire body.
“I havebeenyours since you insulted me to Serena Fisher. Not the same way I am now,” Darcy acknowledged with a dry, sharp laugh. “But… you have been the focal point of my very being since that moment. I’myours. In every way possible. I think about you all of the time. I ache for you, constantly.”
Juliet attempted to speak, but for once, she was at a loss for words. Her throat was so tight with the way her heart waspounding in her chest, she didn’t know if she’d be able to say them, anyway.
Darcy gently stroked her fingers down the sides of Juliet’s neck, like she couldn’t get enough of touching her.
Juliet intimately understood that.
“I love you, Juliet. In all of the ways that I have never loved anyone else.” Darcy’s lips twitched, tremulously.
The words echoed through her, making her feel both weightless and completely weighted down. Making her lightheaded. Making her want to laugh and cry and – and she’d never… no one had ever said that to her, and she’d never wanted them to.
Only Darcy.
Darcy quickly reached up to swipe her hands under her ears to catch any stray tears. “I don’t want you to say it, now. If that’s even what you were going to say. Just… you tell me, if you feel the same, whenyoufeel it’s the time.”
Maybe that was for the best.
Because Juliet hadn’t ever said that to someone. And… and she didn’t want to say it to Darcy like this. When Darcy might think it was a reaction to a very intense, emotional night/morning together.
Darcy cleared her throat, managing a sweet, small smile. “I know that we can’t be together publicly. I can be okay with that; your hands are tied. But… I think I really need to take a few days to reset. And then we can sit down and have a rational talk, about how we can move forward with this.”
Darcy leaned in, pressing her lips to Juliet’s temple. She could feel the way Darcy breathed her in, and her own eyes closed, as she released her grip on the island, and instead gripped the back of Darcy’s shirt.
Darcy, wholoved her.
Darcy stayed still for another few seconds, even as she stopped technically kissing Juliet’s temple. Just… stood, pressed against her. Juliet could feel her heart beating, how it was pounding quickly in her chest, in total opposition to Darcy’s outwardly calm demeanor.
Finally, Darcy inhaled once more and held her breath as she pulled back. “I’m going to go home.”
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