Page 145 of Sterling Stone

His gaze meets my eyes.

“You are a superhero, Stone. You save people.” I point toward Simon, then toward myself. “You saved me.”

“Taxi,” he whispers. “You’re strong and independent, you don’t need saving.”

“But I did. From myself. I’ve been running my entire life.” Not chasing, just running. “Thinking if I left first, I couldn’t ever be hurt again. But I’m so tired of running, Stone. So tired of never having a place to call my own. I want a backyard,” I blurt.

Stone straightens a little bit, narrowly missing the roof of the truck. He stands tall, staring back at me, before setting his forearm on the lip of the doorframe.

That forearm. Where he’d been hurt on the job, helping someone. Saving someone else. Marking him with another scar.

“I heard what you said to Simon. About not leaving Sterling Falls. Maybe finding a place around here.” His voice is cautious, hesitant.

I hurt his heart, too.

And I cup his jaw, running my hand over his bristly stubble before holding his chin in my palm.

“I’d like to stay in Sterling Falls, Stone. For a long, long while.” I glance around him again, noting his family spilling into the yard. Then I glance back at him. “There’s a great community here.”

“Heard we need a mural,” he teases.

“But what do you need, Stone?” He blinks a few times, tipping his forehead to that arm on the roof.

“I just need you, Taxi. If you’ll have me.”

“I’ll have you. Yes, please.” I clap my hands together, like a child begging for a treat.

He slowly smiles, reminding me of that man in a hotel hallway in Knoxville. A little embarrassed by our collision. Definitely cute but awkward. And so, so lovely to look at . . . both on the outside and the in.

“I know Trudy’s a real estate agent, but maybe you know somewhere I could live?” I arch a brow.

“A place with a big backyard?”

“Well, it doesn’t have to be big. Maybe just a yard swing, and a few Adirondack chairs, and picnic tables.”

“Might need more of them soon. Our family keeps growing.”

Our family.

“I love you, Stone, and I don’t want you to ever doubt that. And, oh⁠—”

I’m cut off by a kiss so powerful it almost knocks me backward on the seat. His hand cuffs the back of my neck, and his mouth locks on mine.

The kiss is a mixture of sweet and claiming. A kaleidoscope of colors.

Beige being the center of all things.

When Stone eventually pulls away, I hear a few catcalls coming from his siblings behind him.

He doesn’t turn around, keeping his gaze locked on me.

“I love you, too, baby.” He leans his forehead against mine. “So much.”

He pulls back and focuses on my eyes. “I want you to stay, Taxi. With everything in me, I want you here. With me. But I don’t ever want to think I’m holding you back. Keeping you from your art, or your need to travel.”

I pluck at the edge of his uniform shirt.

“Maybe you could come with me sometime. I can’t give it up forever, but I’d like to slow down. Maybe find that teaching position I mentioned in one of my postcards.”