Lucien smirks, and the expression transforms his face entirely. “You. Keisha.”
“I hear you,” I say, my voice steady despite the way my heart is racing. “And I am not going to pretend that didn’t land exactly the way you meant it to. Because damn, Lucien, that was some metaphysical type shit you just dropped.”
His arched brow lifts as he tries to fight back a smile, clearly pleased with my reaction. He reaches for me, then hesitates and lets his hand drop. I want him to come closer, need him to close the distance between us, but before I can voice that want, I need to address the elephant in the room.
“But it is not just you.” I blurt out, the words rushing out before I lose my nerve.
He watches me intently, waiting with the patience of a saint. Saint Lucien, that’s his new name now. This man who has waited centuries and can apparently wait a little longer for me to work through my thoughts.
“I felt it with Maceo,” I continue, the admission feeling both terrifying and liberating. “Out there in the woods, the hike from hell, something changed, and it did not feel temporary. Whatever is happening with Ezra did not come out of nowhere either, so I am not going to stand here and pretend I do not recognize that.”
I take a small step closer without thinking about it, needing to be closer, needing for him to understand that this isn’t confusion or fear speaking, it’s clarity.
“So, whatever this is, it does not belong to just one connection. It is tied to all of you.”
Lucien watches me closely, and this time there is no distance in it, no careful restraint. His gaze is warm and accepting, like he’s been waiting for exactly this conversation.
“Yes, I agree.” he says simply.
I tilt my head, surprised by the ease of his acceptance. Did he just agree without hesitation, without jealousy or demand for exclusivity?
“This would sound insane anywhere else,” I admit, laughing a little at the absurdity of it all.
“It would,” he agrees readily. “But it is not unusual where I come from. Connections like this are not forced into a single shape to make them easier to understand.”
I study him, taking that in, letting it settle into everything I have already felt but been afraid to name. The relief is almost overwhelming.
“So, this doesn’t surprise you?”
“It’s not unexpected.”
Stunned by the easy acceptance in his voice, I nod my head slowly. “That explains why you are standing there so calm about it.”
“I have had time to understand what I was waiting for,” he says, and there’s something almost tender in his voice. “You are encountering it all at once.”
I step closer again without realizing it until there is barely any space left between us, until I can feel the warmth radiating from his skin.
“This still does not make sense in any way I would have expected,” I say, quieter now, my voice dropping to match the intimacy of the space between us. “But I am not confused about what I feel, and that is the part I cannot ignore.”
His gaze drops briefly to where my hand lifts instinctively, coming to rest against his chest, then returns to my face. His heartbeat is steady under my palm, grounding and reassuring.
“You are not meant to ignore it,” he says, and there’s certainty in his voice that makes something inside me settle into place.
I don’t look away and it surprises me how sure of myself I feel.
“This is not just you choosing me,” I say, the realization crystallizing as I speak. “This is something already in motion.”
“It is foretold. You’re my reason for being here, Keisha.”
A breath leaves me, softer now, as the full weight of that settles over us both.
“You are something else,” I murmur, shaking my head once before looking back at him with new eyes.
His mouth curves faintly, and there’s something almost vulnerable in the expression.
“I knew you the moment I set my eyes on you, Sweetness,” he says again, quieter this time, the endearment rolling off his tongue like it was made for me.
I stay right there, fully aware of how close he is, of how easily this moment could become something else entirely. The air between us is thick with possibility, with want, with the weight of destiny and choice intertwining.
