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I understood immediately what he was really asking. “You mean whether this is real?”

His jaw tightened. “Ignatius says true mates are different, and I believe him. My dragon believes him too, but sometimes I still think about what being near me does to people, and I wonder whether you ever had a choice.”

Ignatius had given us an answer, but apparently, knowing something and believing it every second of every day were different things. Max had spent fifteen years being afraid of himself, and even the certainty of what Ignatius had told us couldn't undo that with a single conversation.

I put the phone down and turned toward him properly, catching his hand before he could retreat into himself.

“The first time I noticed you, maybe your dragon had something to do with it. Maybe neither of us will ever know exactly where ordinary attraction ended and the lifebound began, and I’m okay with that because attraction isn’t love.”

Pain flickered across his face, but I tightened my fingers around his and kept going before he could misunderstand me.

“You didn’t make me trust you, and you didn’t make me come back when I asked for space. You definitely didn’t make me walk across that clearing and put my hand on your dragon, because you stood there and waited until I chose to do it.”

“Ash—”

“I’m not finished.”

His mouth closed, although the faintest trace of a smile appeared because apparently even now, he knew better than to argue with me when I’d decided I had something to say.

“The lifebound might have opened the door,” I continued. “Fine. Maybe that’s something neither of us will ever be able to measure, but it didn’t make me walk through it, and it certainly didn’t make me stay. Everything that happened after that was us.”

His eyes had gone suspiciously bright, but I kept going because this mattered too much to leave unfinished.

“I love the man who remembers exactly how many minutes I played because apparently being captain has made you insane. I love the asshole who tries to feed me six pieces of toast because I blocked a shot with my thigh, and I love the man who stood beside me two days ago without asking me to grieve somebody who didn’t deserve it. I even love the dragon who was terrified of hurting me badly enough that he tried to give me up, although I’m still pissed at both of you for thinking you got to make that decision for me.”

That earned me a shaky laugh, and Max’s fingers tightened around mine.

“So no, I don’t wonder whether I chose you, because I know I did. Whatever brought us together in the beginning doesn’t get credit for everything that came after.”

For a moment Max simply looked at me before reaching for me, and I went straight into his arms. His forehead settled against mine while his hands held me carefully, as though some part of him still couldn’t quite believe I was here because I’d chosen to be.

“Mon cœur,” he murmured, his voice rough.

I brushed my thumb across his cheek. “See, that right there is probably responsible for at least thirty percent of it.”

The laugh that escaped him sounded suspiciously wet, but I was generous enough not to mention it.

“There is the asshole I love.”

Max drew back just enough to look offended. “You called me an asshole.”

“Affectionately.”

“Ah.” His mouth curved. “Then it is romantic.”

“With you, apparently that counts.”

He kissed me then, slowly and tenderly enough that the last of the uncertainty I’d seen in his face seemed to disappear somewhere between one breath and the next. When he finally lifted his head, he pressed one more kiss to my temple and held me there.

“You know I’m going to keep choosing you, right?” I asked quietly.

His arms tightened around me, and although it took him a moment to answer, when he finally did, there was no uncertainty left in his voice.

“I know.”

This time, I thought maybe he actually did.

We ate at the kitchen island while my phone continued trying to have a nervous breakdown beside my plate. Most of the messages were congratulations, some from people I hadn’t heard from in years and others from teammates, staff, friends, and enough members of the Dragons organization that I eventually gave up trying to answer everyone individually.