Instead, he reached into his pocket, slow and smooth, and pulled out the same small box he’d shown me at the hotel.
“You’re only missing one thing,” he said, barely above a whisper. Like the moment might shatter if he spoke too loudly.
“What’s that?” I asked, my voice already breathless.
He flipped the lid open, revealing a ring. Identical to the one I’d left behind on my nightstand.
“I didn’t know if you still had it,” he said. “So, I ordered another.”
I swallowed, hard.
The weight of a thousand things I could’ve said pressed tight against my ribcage.
But not one of them made it out.
Fourteen
The moment we stepped outside,the crisp evening air cooled the heat still simmering beneath my skin. I drew in a long, quiet breath and ran my thumb along the edge of the ring on my finger. It felt snug. Foreign. Like it belonged to someone else.
Dean led us down a narrow dirt path that wove through the trees toward the lodge. Other people moved along it too, scattered in pairs and small groups, their voices rising and falling in soft conversation. But there was a hush beneath all of it. Not silence—something quieter than that.
Up ahead, the lodge glowed with soft, golden light. It spilled from the tall windows and wrapped around the railings in strands of warmth, making the whole place look like a beacon tucked into the woods.
My footsteps slowed as we neared the stairs. I told myself that I just needed a moment to catch my breath. But the truth sat heavier in my chest—I wasn’t used to feeling this uncertain.
Dean reached for my hand without a word, threading his fingers through mine. Casual. Effortless. Like we’d done it a hundred times before.
But we hadn’t.
My chest tightened at the simple touch, and he must’ve felt it, because he stopped. Turned toward me.
The light caught him from just above, casting soft shadows along the lines of his face. His brows were slightly drawn, his mouth neutral. But his eyes—his eyes gave him away. There was something quiet behind them. Careful. As though he was holding his breath, too.
“You okay?” he asked, his voice low and even.
I nodded, though the motion felt weak. “Yeah. You?”
He hesitated. Then the corner of his mouth lifted, not quite to a smile. “I don’t bring many people into my world.”
Just that.
Simple.
Honest.
It was enough to knock something loose inside me. Make me wonder why of all people, he would choosemeto be one of them.
He squeezed my hand once, grounding me in the weight of his touch. In him.
“Then I’ll try not to break anything while I’m here,” I said.
The corner of his mouth lifted, and this time, the smile reached all the way to his eyes.
Something burst in my chest, and I let out a quiet laugh—unexpected, but real—and the tension I’d been carrying slipped from my shoulders, just enough so I could breathe a little easier.
His thumb brushed lightly over the ring on my finger. Then again. A small, absent-minded touch that sent a quiet spark up my arm.
“Ready?” he asked.
