Page 41 of Forever: The Companion

Renzo’s chuckles echoed all around them. A dark, lovely sound that affected Lucia in the best way, and even overtook the noise of the forest and waterfall that usually gave them a nice soundtrack to relax to when they were outside. She liked the sound of him far more. She always would.

“I’m trying to tell you something here, Lucia.”

She tipped her head up, perfectly happy to remain hidden from the world while she used Renzo to do it, but some things were just more important than what she wanted. “And what’s that, exactly?”

“I had a job last night.”

She blinked. “What?”

“Just what I said, babe,” he replied.

“And you didn’t tell me? I thought Bali was—”

“Just a vacation, and it was. Still is. It was a last-minute thing,” he said with a sigh, “and given how simple it seemed—I had it done in a night, and you didn’t even know the difference—I didn’t want to refuse when it was a favor, anyway.”

Huh.

“Still could have told me, Ren,” she whispered.

“Why, so you would worry all night that I might not come back?”

Lucia opened her mouth to deny that.

Renzo gave her a look that kept her quiet.

“I would have tried really hard not to do that,” she told him.

“Exactly, and that’s not what this trip was about.”

“Is that why you’re all in your feelings out here in the hammock, instead of waking me up in bed like you usually do?”

He smiled. “You know me too well.”

“Of course, I do, Ren.”

“Anyway,” he said, his words barely above a murmur as he tucked her back into his embrace and tightened his hold just enough to make her shiver, “I came back—like I promised.”

Right.

Yeah.

That’s always what mattered.