Maybe she hadn’t betrayed Jeff after all? She still loved Jeff. But she loved Duncan, too.
She sang that she wanted a world without night; this darkness had surrounded her since she’d fought with Duncan. She wanted him beside her. Holding her. Not necessarily hiding her, unless it was in the bedroom. She could get behind that.
Warm hands caressed her shoulders, and Aurora lifted one of hers and held his hand there. He implored her to share her love and life with him. A tear she’d thought she’d successfully held back slipped free. He wanted to lead her from her solitude. She pressed her cheek into the hand atop his. Loneliness had become a way of life since Jeff got sick. It was so ingrained in her; she hadn’t noticed it until that night of the reunion. He was asking her to admit she needed him.
Could she?
Aurora had been on her own so long. Saying she needed someone felt like admitting weakness. But he sang that he’d go wherever she went. Did that include Riverton? As he did, his thumb lifted off her shoulder and wiped the stray tear away. He was even replacing Christine’s name with hers as he sang.
She repeated the lyrics back to him. One love. One life. Aurora’s heart unfurled from the darkness. She sang that she would follow him if he asked. And she knew she would. California would be a new adventure for both Katie and Aurora. She asked to share his days, his nights, his mornings …
He turned his hand under hers and held it tightly, stealing her line with a hoarse whisper. “Say you love me?”
She sang Raoul’s answering line in her octave, “You know I do.”
Duncan pressed his mouth to the shell of her ear, singing the next line with her on a sigh of relief. “Love me—that’s all I ask of you.”
Then he spun Aurora around, wrapped her in his arms, and crushed her mouth to his in a move so fast she nearly lost her balance. Dave pounded the keys in a great crescendo as the others cheered.
The music surrounding them blew the lock on her heart wide open, and she poured everything she felt for him into that kiss. She gripped his jacket in her fists as he gently bowed her body back. No more swimming in the shallow end of the pool. She was leaping into the deep end with him with the knowledge he was right there with her.
“I’m going to steal Roar for a minute, guys.” Duncan pulled her toward the back door and let them out onto a small balcony.
“You’re here,” she rasped. “How?”
“A plane, sweetheart.” He grinned down at her, holding her face in his hands. He couldn’t believe she was there in the flesh either, and he was going to keep his hands on her so she couldn’t disappear on him again.
“But why?” Her hands gripped his but didn’t pull them off her. She wasn’t rejecting him. More tears slipped down her cheeks, and he thumbed them away.
“You. I can’t function without you, Roar.” He pressed his forehead to hers, moving his hands to caress her shoulders. “I’ve been solostwithout you these past few weeks. All I can think about is getting back to you. You reminded me what it means to live, not just survive. And those four days you and Katie spent with me were the happiest I’ve had in ages. I want that, all the time.”
“I want that, too.” Her voice was so soft, he almost didn’t hear her.
“You do?” He pulled back to look at her, and she nodded.
“Yes.” She lifted her arms and entwined her hands around the back of his neck. “I’m so sorry, Duncan, I had no idea how badly Mariah treated you. I wouldn’t have pushed you to contact Ryder if I had realized everything she did.”
Duncan stiffened immediately, his brows drawn down. “Who told you?”
Roar’s eyes widened, and her tongue darted out to moisten her lips before she answered. “I ran into her.”
“Mariah?” The blood drained from his face, his voice a hoarse whisper. No.No, no, no.
“Yes. Jen and I were out at a café, and she came in with a group of people. I overheard everything. Her uncle was the judge. That’s why it was so one-sided.”
That did explain a lot. He looked away, dropping his hands. His chest burned with shame. Pressure from her hand pushed his face back into her line of sight.
“Why didn’t you tell me about her threats? About asking you to give up your rights?”
He shrugged, then hung his head. He’d failed again.
“Even with all of that, you contacted him, anyway?”
His head snapped up. “She talked about that?”
“That’s what had her so upset. She can’t do anything about it anymore. She was so pissed.” Aurora giggled, and he felt his spirits rising again.
“So he told her, then. I left it up to him.”
