“You have no idea what you do tome,” she whispers back. “Milo, I?—”
Loud laughter suddenly echoes from the bonfire. We both turn to see Ethan and Aria tangled in the sand, wine glasses spilled across the throw, the two of them cracking up like complete idiots.
Sienna shakes her head with a fond smile, gently breaking the moment. She carefully tucks the poems back into her bag, handling them like something precious. Then she rests her head against my shoulder and lets out a shaky breath, melting into me again.
I wrap my arms around her a little tighter, savoring how perfectly she fits against my body.
“What were you about to say?” I ask quietly, glancing down at her. My heart is still hammering from the way she looked at me just a second ago—open, vulnerable, and full of something deep.
She swallows hard, her fingers tightening slightly around my arm. “Nothing. It can wait.”
I don’t push her, even though I desperately want to. The words are on the tip of my tongue—I love you—but I swallow them. Tonight has already been so full, so perfect. I don’t want to rush her.
Instead, I hold her closer and press a kiss to the top of her head, breathing her in.
Whenever you’re ready, baby, I think, letting the quiet certainty settle deep in my chest.
I’ll be right here.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Sienna
The bonfire has burneddown to glowing embers, casting a soft amber glow across the sand.
Milo and I sway slowly to the fading music, the beach nearly empty in the early morning hours. My arms are looped around his neck, fingers playing with the soft hair at his nape. His hands rest low on my waist, thumbs tracing lazy circles through the thin fabric of my dress.
Every gentle turn makes the skirt brush against his legs, and the night air has cooled enough that I can feel the delicious contrast between his body heat and my skin.
I rest my cheek against his chest, listening to the steady, reassuring thump of his heart. My heart does that familiar, chaotic dance it always does around him—racing, flipping, refusing to settle. But this time the flutter doesn’t scare me. It feels right. As if it’s finally found the rhythm it’s been searching for.
“You’re quiet,” Milo murmurs, his lips brushing the top of my head. “That’s rare. Should I be worried?”
I tilt my head back to look up at him, a soft smile curving my lips. Moonlight catches the strong line of his jaw and the gentle curve of his smile, tightening my chest with affection.
“I’m thinking,” I reply. “Dangerous activity, I know.”
“About?”
“About how I used to hate slow dancing,” I admit, sliding my fingers deeper into his hair and tugging lightly. “Thought it was boring, predictable, something couples did when they ran out of things to say.” I pause, letting the words settle between us. “Turns out it’s not so bad when the right person is holding you like this.”
His eyes soften as his grip on my waist tightens, drawing me closer until there’s no space left between us. “Careful, baby. Keep saying sweet things like that, and I might start believing you actually like me.”
“Oh, I like you.” I rise onto my toes, brushing my lips against his in a teasing, almost-kiss. “A dangerous amount. The kind that makes me forget how to be cynical.”
Milo closes the distance without hesitation, kissing me properly. It’s slow and deep, the kind of kiss that makes my toes curl into the sand and sends warmth blooming through my body. His hands glide up my back, one settling between my shoulder blades while the other cups the nape of my neck, holding me still.
When we pull apart, he’s breathless. “Can we go somewhere?” he asks softly, resting his forehead against mine. “Just the two of us?”
I nod without hesitation. “Lead the way, Mr. Wet-Pants-Wonder.”
We say a quick goodnight to Aria and Ethan, and my sister gives me a knowing wink and a little thumbs-up, which makes me roll my eyes even as I grin. Then we slip away from the dying fire, leaving the last embers glowing behind us.
Milo’s hand finds mine immediately, our fingers lacing together like they were always meant to fit this perfectly.
For a while, we walk in comfortable silence, the only sounds the rhythmic crash of the waves and the swaying of the palm fronds in the breeze.
Milo stops walking as we near our villa, turning to face me fully. His free hand comes up to cup my cheek, his thumb stroking my skin in that way that always calms the jitter in my leg and the storm in my head.
