“That’s it,” he said.“We’ll get copies done.”
His footsteps carried down the hall, the door closing behind him with a soft click.The room emptied without ceremony.
Kyla stayed where she was for a moment, listening to the low churn of machinery below, the steady rhythm of work that never stopped for signatures or contracts.Dust drifted through the beam of sunlight.
She turned back to Titus.He stared at the page, his throat working over something he did not voice.The set of his shoulders loosened a fraction.She reached for him again, her hand finding his without hesitation.
He looked up.She leaned in and brushed her mouth against his, soft and brief.The taste carried ink, breath, and everything they had just made real.
He did not pull away.He met her gaze instead.It was enough.
Outside, the door opened onto hard sunlight and open air.Kyla stepped out first, blinking once as the brightness settled.The yard stretched wide, trucks idling, voices carrying across gravel and metal.The scent of hay and diesel sat thick in the air.
Titus followed close behind.They moved a few steps before he caught her elbow, stopping her at the edge of the loading dock.He turned her toward him, his grip steady.
She let him.His hands came up to her face, callused fingers resting along her jaw.His thumbs traced once along her cheekbones, grounding, measuring.She held his gaze.No hesitation.No question.
He lowered his head and kissed her.His mouth moved over hers with intention, slow enough to be seen, clear enough to leave no room for doubt.This was not the urgency of closed doors or borrowed time.This belonged in daylight.
Kyla stepped closer, her hands settling at his hips, fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt.The world continued around them.A loader shifted in the distance.Someone laughed near the trucks.No one interrupted.
He broke the kiss only to draw breath, his forehead resting against hers.
“Brand’s official now,” he said, voice low.
She adjusted his collar with one hand, smoothing it back into place.“Good,” she answered.“I signed my name to it.”
A hint of a smile pulled at his mouth.They stayed like that for a moment longer, close enough to feel the steady rhythm between them, neither stepping back.Then they moved.
Side by side, hands brushing before settling together, their pace matched without thought.The yard opened in front of them, work already waiting, the day moving forward without pause.Kyla lifted her chin and stepped into it.This time, she did not stand alone.
Chapter 14
Kyla stood in the kitchenwith one hip against the painted wooden counter and her arms tucked under her ribs.Her hair stayed half-twisted from sleep with a few coils spilling loose.
She squinted at the white blur beyond the window and pressed her palm to the glass.Cold pressed through her skin.
