“I thought you took the job,” I say carefully.
Declan laughs incredulously and rises to his feet, towering over me once more. He settles a hand on my neck, like he can’tnotbe touching me right now. “Why would you think that?” He tilts his head slightly, considering. “What was all that stuff you were saying when I came in?”
“You were gone,” I explain. “I was going to go talk to you first thing this morning, but you never showed up for work. I tried texting and calling, but you didn’t answer. I –”
“I forgot my phone here,” Declan interrupts me. “It’s probably dead now. Figured I didn’t need it until I got home anyway.”
My heart snags on the wordhome.
“I went next door just a little while ago, and Maya said you left,” I tell him. “For New York.”
Declan shakes his head, confusion etched into his handsome face. “I don’t know why she would think that.”
“She did saymaybe,” I admit. “But she mentioned you needed to pack.”
“I did,” Declan confirms. “I spent all day packing my things.”
I take a deep, steadying breath and lean back against the table, worried my knees might give out otherwise. Declan steps closer, his hand still warm and steady against my neck.
“Don’t go,” I whisper. I can feel my lower lip begin to wobble and I watch as Declan’s eyes zero in on it. “Wherever you’re going, please don’t. Please stay.”
“I wasn’t –”
“I have a whole plan,” I cut in. “I called some therapists this morning, and one of them called me back on my lunch. I have my first appointment in two weeks. I swear, I’m going to work on whatever is wrong with me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” Declan says softly. His thumb strokes across my throat and a shiver skates down my spine. “You were scared.”
I nod and swallow around the lump in my throat. “I was scared,” I agree. “But I’m not scared anymore.” Then, thinking better of it, I add, “Okay, that’s a lie. I’m terrified about wherever you’re going that you needed to pack for. But I swear, I wasn’t scared of that until Italked to Maya. I was wrong about everything I said at the wedding. I didn’t really think you’d go, it was just easier to pretend I believed that than to admit I was actually terrified you’d stay, and I’d have to confront my own fears about being with you.”
“I knew that,” Declan says, nodding. “I wasn’t mad about what you said. I was just giving you some space to figure things out.”
“Then why are you leaving?” I hate the way my voice breaks on the wordleaving.
“Elsie, honey, I’m not going anywhere.” Declan steps closer, crowding me against the table. He cradles my face with both hands and brushes his thumbs gently over my cheeks. “Not to New York or anywhere else.”
“What do you mean?” I whisper.
“I accepted Sean’s offer. I’m staying here, in Port Myles. I took the day off to go back to Boston. I went to my storage unit and loaded everything up into a truck. I was packing to comehome, not to leave it.” He nods toward the front window of the shop and I follow his line of sight, noting the big moving truck parked outside our building.
“Home,” I echo. “Port Myles is home now? For good?” I try to will my over-eager heart into slowing down, but it’s no use. She’s off to the races at the thought of getting tokeepDeclan.
“I’m here to stay,” he confirms.
I can’t fight the mile-wide smile that stretches across my face, and Declan’s answering grin makes my stomach flip.
“Did you drive that thing?”
“Absolutely not,” Declan laughs. “I hired movers to do it for me. I know better than to think I could drive a truck like that.”
I can’t help smiling wider, thinking about Olivia and her road trip with Cam a couple years ago with a truck even bigger than the one idling by the sidewalk now.
“So you’re really staying,” I repeat. I think I might need to say it a few dozen times before I let myself believe it.
“Wherever you are is home to me,” Declan says seriously.
“You can’t stay just for me,” I argue, though it’s half-hearted.
“Fuck that,” he disagrees. He studies me seriously, his palms still cradling my face. His touch is gentle, like he’s holding something precious. “I’ve spent my whole life looking for a place where I feel like I actually belong. I didn’t have that growing up. Even with my grandparents, I always felt like a burden. They didn’t sign up to raise a kid all over again at retirement age.”
