I grin, swaying my shoulders. “I’m not gonna hide you from the world.”
She raises an eyebrow. “What if I want you to?”
And there it is — light, fast, gone again, the way she says the things she means most.
I stop swaying and don’t make a joke out of this. I’ve gotten good at staying quiet. I pull her in, her arms looping around my neck, and touch my forehead to hers.
“Tell me what’s on your mind, Linwood.”
Her lips part as she watches me closely. It takes her a moment to say it, but finally she says, “Promise me that I’m not the reason you’re not signing early.”
“You’re not,” I whisper. “I swear it.”
She kisses me, quick, and pulls back just far enough to look in my eyes. “When you leave––”
“You’re coming with me.” It’s out before I’ve thought about it, like it’s already decided. I watch it land on her, watch her go still, and realize what I just said. “I mean — God. Not like that. I’d really like it if you came with me, Aspen. When you’re ready. If you want to.”
Her eyes do something I can’t read, glassy and quick.
“You don’t have to give up anything for me,” I say, quieter now, because the cocky version’s not the one that’s true. “But I’m in this for real. I’m not planning on letting you go.”
She asks, “And if you change your mind about me?” It comes out small, but it’s loud to my ears. It’s the whole fear in one question. “Promise you’ll let me down easy.”
I shake my head slowly, because I’m not going to fight her fear, I’m just going to outlast it. “I’m not going to let you down at all,” I say. That’s the part she doesn’t believe yet, and that’s okay. “I’ll prove it to you.” I tuck her hair back. “I’ve never done this before, Aspen. It scares me too. But I want you with me.”
She’s quiet. Then her mouth tips into something that isn’t fear. “I’d have to be part of the team, then,” she says, “if I’m coming with you. I’ll have my degree. I have experience. I don’t do anything halfway, Ermington.”
And there she is — my analyst, already building the spreadsheet, already finding her own way.
“That,” I say, “sounds like an absolute dream.”
We smile at each other as the oven timer goes off. I release her and pull out the pie. She walks over to the stove and looks at it.
“It’s not bad.”
I look at her, and we both laugh at how generous she’s being because the pie is fucking horrible.
I turn down the music, and we try the pie. It is appalling. The crust has managed to come out both raw and burnt, an achievement I didn’t realize was possible, and the pumpkin is like soup.What the fuck happened?Aspen takes one bite, and her whole face does something heroic, trying to be kind about it.
“It’s—”
“Shit,” I say.
She covers her mouth and swallows. “I won’t take another bite, but––”
I force myself to swallow the bite.
She sets the fork down.
I couldn’t tell you who moves first. I’d like to say it was me, but the truth is we just find each other.
I kiss her like I’ve got the rest of my life to do it — because, God willing, I’m about to spend it finding out.
She kisses me back like she’s been dying to get her hands on me. I push back, proving to her that I want this more. So much fucking more.
Chapter 40
Aspen
