Page 134 of Stay Wild Darlin’

“Beau had a life before me too. A mess of one. Did you think I didn’t sit across tables, hearing stories about things he did with other women, or watch people look at me like I was the next one he’d burn through?”

I blinked.

“The difference is I didn’t let those ghosts make decisions for me. You can’t love someone only in the spaces their past hasn’t touched. You have to love all of it. Even the rooms that creak.”

My throat was tight. I pressed my back to the door and slid down until I was sitting on the floor.

She sank down next to me.

“I get so scared that I’m temporary. One day, he’s going to wake up and realize I’m not her. I don’t fit in.”

“Poppy, you don’t have to belong in their stories because you’re building your own with him. Right now. Every night you read Cora to sleep. Every morning you’re still standing in his kitchen. Every stupid argument about throw pillows and what color to paint the walls.”

I let out a shaky breath and rested my head on my knees.

“You’re not the stand-in,” she said, gently. “You’re the after. The real. If you keep waiting for a sign that tells you you’re allowed to stay, you’re gonna miss the fact that you already are.”

I looked at her, eyes burning. “You mean it?” I asked.

She smiled. “Every word. If Dalton doesn’t tell you that himself when you walk out of here, I’ll kick his ass.”

I let out a laugh—a real one. “Thanks,” I whispered.

Fable bumped her shoulder into mine. “You’re not temporary, Poppy. You’re the goddamn foundation.”

A quiet knock tapped against the doorframe. We both scooted back across the floor just enough to clear the swing of the door, as the bathroom door cracked open and Dalton stepped in.

Fable and I stood up at the same time, and she pulled me into a tight hug without a word.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” she whispered, brushing a hand down my arm before slipping out past him.

Dalton stayed where he was for a beat, eyes locked on me. His jaw was tight, his hands flexing at his sides, but as his eyes swept over me again, that softness I knew crept into his gaze.

“He’s an asshole.”

I nodded, staring at the floor. “I overreacted.”

“No,” he said firmly, taking a step toward me. “No, you didn’t. Because if anyone at that table had been talking about your ex like that in front of me? I would’ve lost my shit.” His expression softened as he took another step. “I know that moment sucked. I know it threw you, and I hate that it came from someone who should’ve known better.”

I swallowed hard. “It made me feel like I didn’t belong.”

“You do belong, Poppy. In my life. With my daughter. With me. Not because you filled some empty space, but because you made a new one.”

“I hate that I got in my head.”

“I hate that you felt like you had to,” he murmured, cupping my jaw with one hand, tilting my face up to meet his. “You’re not temporary. You never were.” He stepped even closer. “I know it’s hard, with the lack of closure with Brooke. I know how fucking confusing that must be for you.”

I blinked fast, my throat tight, but I didn’t look away.

“You have to know, I don’t wake up thinking about her. I didn’t build a life with her. You are the one who shows up. Every day. Without expecting anything back.” His thumb brushed below my ribs, like he was holding me together. “You are my home. I’m gonna show you—every single day—that you’re mine. That I choose you. Over and over, no matter what ghosts live in the corners.”

A beat of silence passed between us because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say.

“Please don’t leave me,” he said softly, and that broke something in me. “I know I’ve got baggage. I know this hasn’t been easy. But if I lost you⁠—”

I reached for him, grabbed his arms like they were the only things tethering me to the floor, and kissed him.

“Never,” I breathed against his mouth. “I’m not going anywhere.”