Josie steps inside and turns on the spot. Her hand comes up over her mouth as she gasps at what she's seeing.
The room is so bright, filled with floor-to-ceiling windows along the whole ocean wall, giving a view of the Pacific stretched out endlessly. The private terrace with its own outdoor shower has plants spilling over the rail, and through the archway, Josie's takes in the ensuite and that giant tub that's big enough for two.
I watch her spin another circle, her fingers trailing along the window frame like she's testing whether all this is real.
I can't look away.
My heart cracks open, filling with the sound of her laugh cracking on a sob.
I never wanted this. Never planned for it.
I came here to coast, to be nobody's anchor, to let the easy rhythm of waves and meaningless hockey games carry me through. But watching her fall in love with this room, I realize now, and I understand with bone-deep clarity, that I'm not coasting anywhere anymore.
I'm all in. Forever.
This woman, who was told her whole life that she wasn't enough, that she wanted the wrong things, that she'd never belonged… she's about to have everything.
I'll make damn sure of it.
Her mother stole her world, piece by piece, with every dismissive sigh and cruel word. Her father promised one and never delivered through no fault of his own.
But I'll give it back.
Every sunset we watch through these windows, every morning we wake up together in that ridiculous bed she's running her hands over right now, every moment I get to watch her realize she's exactly where she's supposed to be.
I never expected to feel this way. I never wanted to need someone this badly.
But now that I've got her, I'm going to treasure every second.
She moves into the walk-in closet that's the size of Beck's entire bedroom.
It's empty. Just waiting for her to fill it.
"This is—Declan, this is the biggest master suite I've ever seen. It's gorgeous."
"It'soursuite. If you want it." I shove my hands in my pockets because otherwise they're going to shake. "Forget the rental, Josie. Move in with me. Up here. Because, apparently—"I gesture vaguely at the room, the house, my entire ruined life plan, "—we're adults now."
She's crying. She's crying and laughing at the same time, which I've learned is her factory setting for big feelings, and she swipes at her eyes and points an accusing finger at me.
"Youkidnapped my boxes."
"I redirected your boxes."
"And you let me sign alease, you psychopath."
"Mason's lawyer already handled the lease. You never had a lease in the first place. It was theater."
"Oh myGod—" She spins another circle, taking in the tub, the terrace, the closet all over again. I watch her fall in love with it in real time. "The closet is bigger than my childhood bedroom. My sisters wouldlose their minds." She stops at the mention of her sisters. "Maybe... maybe they could come see it sometime. Meghan keeps asking where I actually live now. Maybe I just... show them? The whole thing. The life."
"Whenever you want." I mean it down to the bone. "Invite all of them. Even your mother. We'll traumatize them with Beck at dinner."
"Oh, my sisters wouldloveBeck, that's the problem." She wipes her eyes again, then narrows them at the pristine white bed. "Wait. Hold on. Does this mean Biscuit finally stops sleeping in your bed? Since it's, you know, on thethirdfloor."
We both look at the doorway, and of course, Biscuit is already assessing the mattress with the cold-eyed ambition of a real estate developer.
"Oh, he's absolutely still going to sleep on the bed," I say.
"One hundred percent," Josie agrees, and then she crosses the room and kisses me.
