The world blurs at the edges.
All I see is him.
The man who loved me anyway—through fear, through faults, through my silence.
The man whose song just confessed that he still bleeds for me.
Rafe’s lips part like he’s about to ask something.
Maybewhat are you doing?
Maybedon’t.
Maybeplease don’t make this harder.
I step into his space. Close enough that he could stop me if he wanted. Close enough that the seconds stretch thin and dangerous.
His hands stay at his sides. He doesn’t move away.
That’s all the permission I can take.
I kiss him.
Not a polite peck. Not a drunk mistake.
I kiss him like I mean it.
Like I’m kissing my husband, and I’m done pretending the world gets to dictate what my love looks like.
His breath catches. For a fraction of a heartbeat, he’s still—shock, disbelief, the instinct to protect himself flaring.
Then he kisses me back.
It’s immediate and devastating. Like his body remembers me even if his mind is still trying to catch up.
He grips my suit jacket, fingers curling tight. My chest aches with the force of it.
The room makes noise—gasps, sudden voices, the scrape of chairs—but it’s distant. None of it matters.
I pull back first, only because breathing is becoming necessary. Rafe’s eyes are open now, wide and dark and stunned. He doesn’t smile. He just stares. Like he’s waiting for the panic. Waiting for me to flinch away. Waiting for me to regret it.
I refuse. I keep my face close, my forehead nearly touching his. I let him see I’m still here.
“I—” I start, voice raw.
A splash hits my face. Cold liquid slaps across my cheek and mouth, dripping down my jaw.
I jolt back, startled, blinking.
Noise surges—shouts, startled cries.
A woman stands in front of me, arm still extended like she just threw her drink.
She’s young—early twenties, maybe. Mascara smudged like she’s been crying. Her face is twisted with rage, eyes wild and bright. The server.
“You!” she screams, voice cracking. “You think you can just—after everything?—”
Vinny is there instantly, moving between her and Rafe like a wall. Rafe jerks back a step, shock flashing across his face as he tries to process the intrusion.
