Page 124 of Marcus

In the doorway of one of the spare bedrooms, Marcus shrugged. “I think you know the answer to that, Cella. This seemed like the perfect time to chat—isn’t that what you came here to do? Talk to me?”

“More than anything.”

She could tell just by the fleeting surprise that quickly left his expression as fast as it came that her response wasn’t the one he expected to hear.

“What?” she asked. “Did you think I would try to save my pride here—act like you’re not everything I want, Marcus?”

The strong line of his jaw worked as he chewed over his next words. Cella let him have those moments, knowing he probably needed them as much as she had needed these past weeks without him. Space to breathe, and time to think.

Sometimes, it brought everything into focus.

Everything that mattered, anyway.

“I wondered,” Marcus said, tipping his head to the side as he reached out to finger the low neckline of her dress, “if you came all this way today just to tell me you were done here. So I avoided hearing it—I was sure that’s what you were going to do.”

“You think I still might?”

He grinned just a bit.

Sexy and sly.

“Not in that dress, no,” he replied. “I don’t think you’d look this good to just tell me that, bella donna. You don’t seem like the type to step on my heart in heels before you walk away.”

“Oh, I’m exactly that type, but I just don’t intend to say goodbye, Marcus.”

“I’m sorry for what happened.”

She nodded. “I know.”

“I wish you didn’t leave.”

“Me, too.”

“Did it help?” he asked.

Cella stared down at the floor between them because God knew that was easier than the weight of this man looking at her when he was this close and touching her at the same time. He still did that to her. Made her lose her train of thought while at the same time, causing the rest of the world to disappear around them.

It was just her and him.

The hallway.

Them together.

Like she wanted it to be.

“The distance helped,” she admitted.

“Look at me.”

Cella didn’t hesitate to meet his gaze, and there she found the same thing that always waited for her when Marcus stared at her. Understanding. Patience. Sympathy.

His love.

At the same time, his mask from earlier was gone. Because of that, she found the man who had made her fall in love with him so easily staring back at her. All his passion, the parts of him that made her heart race and her lungs ache. This man, who felt entirely like hers and no one else’s.

Cara was right.

Cella could be the hurricane.