Page 154 of The Heart Breaker

He blinks, then lets out a short laugh, dropping his forehead to mine. “Jesus Christ.” His thumb brushes my cheek. “You know what I mean. I’ll love you hard enough that he never gets to be the reason you feel empty again.”

My throat tightens, and I swallow as he leans in, brushing his mouth over mine in the softest kiss I’ve ever had.

“Set your heart ablaze, Prescott,” he murmurs against my lips.

My eyes fly to his.

Of all the things I expected to come out of Cole’s mouth in a moment like this, that was not one of them.

His brows tug together. “What?”

“Did you just quote Demon Slayer at me?”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Can’t get that show out of my head,” he admits. “I watched it because it reminded me of you, but the more I watched it… the more addicted I was.”

And weirdly, somehow, that makes my chest hurt even more. Because I avoided watching anime because it reminded me of him too much, but he wanted to be reminded of me.

I laugh, and his thumb slides over my cheek again, and he kisses me before I can say anything else, and I kiss him back, letting myself fall into him before I pull away just enough to look at him.

“You don’t taste like smoke,” I point out.

The corner of his mouth lifts. “Trying to quit. Apparently it’s bad for you or something,” he says with an eye roll.

My brows go up. “Uh-oh. So you’re about to start chewing way more gum than usual?”

He lets out a quiet laugh and shakes his head. “Nah. Don’t need it anymore now that I have you.”

My brows pull together. “What do you mean?”

He looks at me for a second like he’s deciding whether or not to say it, then lets out a breath. “I used to get panic attacks a lot in high school,” he says. “My coach told me chewing gum could calm your nervous system down. Said when your body thinks you’re eating, it stops thinking you’re in danger, because people don’t exactly sit down for a snack in the middle of a life-threatening situation.”

A tiny smile tugs at my mouth. “That’s… weirdly smart.”

“Yeah.” He brushes his nose against mine. “It worked too.” His hand slides to the back of my neck. “But I think you work even better.”

A laugh breaks out of me. “That was smooth.”

He grins. “Yeah?”

I nod, smiling up at him, unable to believe he’s really mine. The words sit so full in my chest, they ache and I just need to get them out. “I love you,” I whisper.

He holds my gaze for what feels like forever before letting out a deep relieved sigh. “God, I’m so in love with you, Prescott,” he murmurs, sliding his hand to my cheek before kissing me again.

And for the first time in my life, it feels like that hole in my chest is finally getting filled.

Okay, no. That still sounds gross.

41

COLE

There are way too many people here.

Aurora told me the showcase was a big deal, but I still wasn’t expecting this many people crammed into one room.

The gallery is on the second floor of the arts building, tucked behind two sets of glass doors and a hallway that smells like paint and coffee. It’s bright as hell, too, with white walls, pale wood floors, and huge windows letting in enough sunlight to hit the paintings.

There’s a ton of beautiful art in here, but I haven’t really looked at any of it properly.