Page 323 of A Matter of Time

Instantly, I was dragged over next to him, the heat from his skin sending a shiver down my spine.

“You think it’s a joke? Do you have any idea how bad I want that?”

I rolled my head so I could see his eyes, and I was surprised at how dark, serious, and hungry they were. “I had no idea.”

His eyes stayed locked on mine. “I don’t know how to let people know that you belong to me.”

“I tell them.” I smiled at him, reaching out to run my fingers over his jaw. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

His sigh was deep as he looked into my eyes. We stayed like that for a while, just staring at each other.

“What are you thinking?”

“I just wonder if you’ll miss it.”

“What’s that?”

“The milestones that come with being straight.”

“Like what?”

I shrugged. “Like the big, beautiful wedding my brother just had. You’re never gonna have a Disney moment with me, ya know?”

“Explain that.”

“The whole finding-your-princess deal, Sam.” I rolled over on my back and stared at the ceiling. “You’re never gonna have the happily ever after with me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. C’mon, none of the great movie moments happen between two guys. That’s not how it works.”

“No?”

“No.”

“I think you’re wrong. I think, in real life, magic happens every day,” he said, rolling over on top of me, staring down into my eyes. “But even if it doesn’t, who cares? I don’t need a happily ever after, J, I just need the ever after part. The adjective can be whatever. Up and down ever after, sometimes rocky ever after, crazy ever after—I don’t give a shit. As long as you stick around, we’ll just do the best we can, day after day.”

The tears welled up in my eyes, and he got blurry.

“Jesus, you’ve got a soft heart,” he whispered, wiping the tears from my temples. “And, baby…don’t let anyone ever tell you you’re not a princess.”

“Oh, screw you, Kage!” I shoved him away from me.

When he held me down and kissed me breathless, I thought my heart would stop. But it turned out that beating for Sam Kage was its main function.

NINE

As I walked through the market pushing a shopping cart later that afternoon, my phone went off. Chinese food hadn’t sounded good after all, so we had opted to cook. I was only allowed to be out because I had my own private police detective to protect me.

“Hello?”

“Jory.”

“Hey.” I smiled into my phone. My brother sounded really good. Why he was calling me when he was on his honeymoon, I had no idea, but I was always happy to hear from him. “What are you⁠—”

“I need you to pick Aja and me up at the airport tomorrow morning.”

“Ohmygod.” I stopped walking, standing up straight from leaning on the cart. “Why? What’s wrong?”