AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Let me finish. If I don’t say this now, I’ll probably forget parts of it, and, well, I’ve been looking for this thing since you first showed me it.”
Gavin’s eyes welled, but the smile on his face never dimmed as he stood there staring at me.
“That day we hunted through boxes of weird-ass knobs and fancy ornaments for buildings, I realized one of the biggest things I love about you is that you’re more than just surface. You dig for the treasures you want to find. You’re not afraid to get a little dirty, to look beyond the mess, just like you did with me.”
As a tear escaped and rolled down his cheek, I reached out to swipe it away with my thumb.
“I’m about as wrong for you as anyone could be. More fucked up and messy than anyone deserves—especially you—but I promise, I will never make you sorry for taking a chance on me.”
I covered his hands where he still held on to the sundial. “This is for you. I could’ve given it to you back at our place, but I know you like to hunt, so I made sure they put it somewhere special to find.”
Gavin wiped at his cheeks, and for a heartbeat, I wondered if I’d gone about this all wrong.
I swallowed. “Say something. Did I mess up?—”
“No, this is perfect. It’s all perfect. I…I don’t know what to say.”
Oh thank fuck.I let out the breath I’d been holding, and as Gavin looked up at me with wet lashes, the words I’d wanted to say came back.
“I’ve never had a real home before. Never had any direction or known what I wanted in life, until you. You’re my compass, Gavin. I’d follow you anywhere.”
He was shaking his head, but it wasn’t because he disagreed with what I said. The wonder in his eyes told me that.
He lifted his hand to rest against my neck, his thumb brushing my cheek. “You’re incredible, you know that?”
No, I didn’t, but every day I spent with Gavin made me all the more determined to feel it. If he believed in me so much, I should too. And maybe I was starting to…just a little.
I turned my head to kiss his thumb. “Do me a favor and don’t tell anyone that. The last thing I need is the guys thinkin’ I’ve gone soft.”
Gavin trailed his fingers over my shirt and poked at my stomach. “Trust me, no one is gonna think that. Have you seen you lately? Jesus. Your abs could cut glass.”
I smirked. “Good.”
“Besides”—he slid an arm around my waist and stepped in close—“I wanna be the only one that gets the gooey marshmallow inside.”
“Gooey marshmallow?” I looked around us and raised a brow. “I don’t know who the hell you’re talkin’ about.”
“I won’t tell anyone that either. Can’t have someone trying to steal what’s mine.” He lifted his chin, and I closed the distance between our mouths, giving him a sweet-as-sugar kiss.
“Thank you,” he said, and brought the compass back up to look at it. “I can’t believe you went to all the trouble to find this for me. I love it. I loveyou.”
I’d gone my entire life never hearing those three little words. Thinking I didn’t need to. That they wouldn’t mean anything anyway, because why would I believe anyone who said them?
But I would never get tired of hearing Gavin telling me he loved me. Not even if I lived to a hundred and he still decided to keep me around. When they came out of his mouth, I could feel the emotion behind them, and it had started to heal the gaping wound inside me.
Pressing a kiss against the top of his head, I said, “I love you.”
He squeezed me tighter, and we both lingered there, just like that, in comfortable silence.
“Did you find what you were— Oh.” The shop owner came to a stop when he caught us tangled up in each other. “Ah. I see you did.”
“Thank you,” I told him, grateful for his help in storing the compass and playing along.
“Anytime.” He winked at me before retreating to the back of the store.
“I think I’ve got a new problem,” Gavin said, pulling away.
“Oh no. Is this one of those addictions where you get what you want then immediately plan for the next thing?”
