“You know what the worst part is?” I murmur quietly near her ear.
“What?”
“I used to like being alone.”
She turns, facing me.
My fingers tighten against her hips unconsciously.
“Now?” she asks softly.
I stare down at the woman who somehow crawled beneath every wall I ever built.
“Now I look for you in every room.” The words leave me before I can stop them.
Raw. Honest. Terrifying.
Peyton’s breath catches softly.
And suddenly I realize I’m done for.
Because the look on her face right now? That’s the look people spend entire fucking lifetimes searching for.
I brush my knuckles lightly along her cheek.
Her lips part slightly.
Then I lower my face to hers, kissing her slowly, like I want to memorize every second of it.
Peyton grips the front of my shirt, kissing me back with enough emotion to make my chest ache.
And somewhere between the city lights, her soft gasp against my mouth, and the way she clings to me like I matter, the truth slips out. Words I don’t mean to say fall from my lips.
“I love you.”
The words hang in the air softly between us.
I freeze.
Fuck.
Peyton pulls back a little further, staring up at me.
My pulse pounds violently.
I didn’t mean to say it yet.
Didn’t plan it.
It just…escaped.
But it’s true. Terrifyingly so.
“I—”
Peyton cuts me off by grabbing my face and kissing me hard enough to steal the rest of the words straight from my lungs.
When she finally pulls back again, her eyes are shining.
