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“Yes, that’s right,” Liam stated calmly. “Garrett, I quit.”

Claire shook her head. “Are you crazy?” she whispered, but Liam had never felt sounder.

Garrett’s frustration was obvious as he growled out his words. “If I find out that you are leveraging this position for another at a different company, I will—”

“I’m not,” Liam interrupted, still looking down at Claire, caressing every curve of her face with his eyes. “I don’t want another position. I want another life.”

“How unbelievably unprofessional to drop the company that made you into who you are today,” Garrett snapped. “You are finished with this line of work. I’ll make sure you never step foot in another—”

But Liam was done. He ended the call, silenced the ring, then slid the phone into his pocket. A strange sensation filled his chest, one he didn’t recognize at first. An emptiness? No. It was more a calmness. A feeling of peace.

Peace. Is that what it felt like? It had been so long since he’d experienced it. And yet, he knew at once that was what he was feeling. Peace and an overwhelming sense of joy.

Claire, however, still stood in front of him with a pursed brow. “Liam, what are you doing?”

“I’m doing what you said.”

She swallowed. “I said a lot of things…”

He gave a soft laugh. “I’m no longer waiting for the stars to align.”

Her lips parted. “But what about your job? You worked so hard for that promotion.”

“It is not for me. It might bring me more money and accomplishments, but in reality, all it was doing was keeping me away from the things I actually wish to do with my life.”

“And what is it you want to do?” she asked, the innocence in her expression wrapping around his heart.

He gave a half-smile. “I want to take photographs. I want to be free to control my own narrative.” He reached for her hand. This time, she didn’t pull back. “And I want to be with you.”

Hope sparkled in her blue eyes, but still, she shook her head. “I have to go back to Colorado next week. And I have a job of my own. Wouldn’t we just be setting ourselves up for failure by starting a long-distance relationship when we’ve only known each other for, what, five days?”

Feeling lighter and more carefree by the minute, Liam gave a flippant shrug. “I hear there’s some fascinating wildlife in Colorado.”

“What?” she breathed.

He moved forward, the words falling from his lips as the ideas came to him. “I could come for a month or two. Then after that, you could visit England for a week, whatever your job permits.”

Her smile had grown as he’d spoken, even though she shook her head. “But…that’d be crazy.”

He laughed, smoothing a lock of hair behind her ear. “That is most definitely true. But then, I don’t feel like it would be crazy. I know we haven’t known each other for long. But you’ve seen me at my worst and my best. You’ve heard more about my dreams and wishes than any other person on the planet, and you know what I really want in life. Honestly, I think we’d be mad not to see what happens.” He sobered, staring down at her with an intensity he hoped spoke to her of his devotion. “I want to make this work, Claire. I want to see if what we have between us is real. Because I already know, I’ve fallen in love with you.”

The moment he spoke the words, a rush of warmth overcame him stronger than any feeling he had ever experienced. He’d spoken the truth, and blast, did it feel good to own it.

* * *

Claire listened to Liam’s admission of love, her head spinning as her heart overflowed. Love? This man—this charming, thoughtful, gorgeous man—loved her?

Tears filled her eyes as the truth rushed toward her. He had quit his job, lost his career, and given up the last eight years of his life, not only to seek his photography, but to give their relationship a fighting chance, even offering to follow her to Colorado.

This was something Claire had never experienced in her life—this was someone putting her first. Choosing her first.

And yet, deep down, she wasn’t surprised. She was at peace. Liam had already put her first so many times over the last few days. Showing her around London on his day off, joining her at Winter Wonderland to save her from Dean and Melody, rescuing her from each embarrassing situation instead of saving face for himself.

And now this.

She looked up at him, staring into his dark eyes as he waited patiently for her to either respond to or reject his declaration of love.

Slowly, she took a step toward him, bringing her hands to rest against his chest. “I love you, too, Liam,” she said softly. “And I want to make this work.”