“There’s nothing here for me.”
“But therecouldbe everything.” I sat up then and turned to him. “I’m not going to try to convince you because we’ve been back and forth with this before. I just know that …” I took a deep breath, and I steadied myself as I took his hand, and threaded my fingers through his. They were so warm. “I know that I want to stay on for another season, and maybe another, and another. I like it here—it’s the first place where I’ve ever felt like I belong. I want to see if Juliette finds her true love and I want to go to a bro night with Wykofski and I want Damnit to like me someday, which probably won’t happen but I like the idea. And … and I know you have a career that you’ve worked hard for, and I know that you have a complicated relationship with Lilymoor, but … I love you, Cyrus Beck, and I want you to be a part of my life here. Please,” I added softly, searching his face.
For a long moment, I wasn’t sure if he’d get up and walk out or gently break my heart—but he ended up doing neither of those things. He simply leaned forward and gently kissed me on the lips. “You’re right,” he said, “there could be everything.”
My heart fluttered in my chest. “So . . .”
He tilted his head. “I should probably talk to Oliver first, but beforethat, I think I desperately need some coffee.”
I laughed, and the sound chased away the nerves that had seized my body. “I think coffee is a perfect idea.”
So we got up, though while I fixed the coffee, he hunted in my refrigerator for breakfast, and took out some eggs and butter and toast, commenting that I needed more groceries.
“I was leaving today,” I remarked.
“Well, you aren’t anymore,” he said, and I watched as the man I fell in love with in a secret garden made me scrambled eggs and toast, and I thought I could get used to this. There were quirks about him that I hadn’t seen in the garden, like how when he stood still he balanced on one foot, or that he took his coffee with two sugars, or that he ate faster than my stepfather, which was arealfeat.
“I guess I’m the black-coffee guy in this relationship,” I muttered, more to myself than to him, absently rolling the Magic 8 Ball around in my hands.
He quirked an eyebrow and then nodded toward the 8 Ball. “What does it say?”
Flustered, I almost dropped it. “I mean—well,” I babbled, “the thing is, this is—” I glanced down, and the die tumbled and tumbled and tumbled. “Signs point to yes,” I said, even though the die hadn’t come back to the surface yet. I lifted my gaze to his, to see if he felt the same.
In reply, he leaned over the table and kissed me. “Is that an answer for you?”
“I think I need you to tell me slower,” I said, and felt his grin more than saw it, as he kissed me again just as I asked.
I never knew what the die said, but I’m sure I knew Harriett’s answer even without it, because she’d led me to this house on the cliffs, after all. There was no reason to start doubting her now.
I curled my hands around the collar of his T-shirt as he pulled away, and kissed him again just because I could. Because I loved seeing him in the morning light. I loved the flush of red across his cheeks whenever I caught him by surprise. I loved the glimmer of sunlight in his coppery hair. Things I would’ve never seen otherwise, stuck in that garden.
His stormy gaze grew wine dark. “Careful. I might just throw you over my shoulder and carry you back to bed.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” I chastised.
He quirked a challenging eyebrow, beginning to do exactly that, when there was a knock on the door. He whipped his head around and glared at it. On the other side, Oliver shouted a good morning. Rus narrowed his eyes.
I patted his chest. “I’ll answer it,” I said, and went to greet Oliver.
He came with two cups of coffee. His gaze flickered from me to Cyrus and back again. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No,” I replied as Rus came up beside me.
He eyed the coffees. “There’s three of us,” he said.
“I didn’t know you’d be staying over,” Oliver supplied, and to show how acutely unwelcome Rus still was, he started to dump out one of the cups, but then decided against wasting perfectly good coffee and combined it into his half-empty one. “I didn’t even realize you two knew each other this well.”
Rus and I exchanged a look. I said, “It’s complicated.”
Oliver nodded silently. “Right. Well, just wanted to come and say goodbye and all, since today’s your last day.”
“I think I want to stay on for another season, actually,” I replied.
He looked excited, despite Cyrus at the door. “Really? That’s great! Lilymoor likes you a lot. Lala likes you, too. And I like you. Well, you know, not likethat, but—anyway. This is awkward and I’m going. Cyrus,” he added distastefully, and started away.
As he did, Rus stepped out onto the porch. “Actually, could you wait a second? I want to apologize. Last night, it was a dick move to spring the changes to the will on you in the Hedges. If you don’t want to inherit the estate—”
Oliver whirled around on his heels. “Ido, though. Or Idid.”
