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Lizzie drops her bag and walks to me. She gathers my hands in hers and looks up at me with love and hope and a whole lot of guilt. “They’re not. I need you to forgive me, Aiden.” When I go to talk—to tell her that there’s nothing to forgive, that I’d wait forever if it meant I could have her—she presses a finger to my lips. “I was upset, but it wasn’t warranted, and for that, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I told you I wouldn’t come with you. I’m sorry if I made you feel like I wouldn’t support your dreams. But, most of all, I’m sorry that I didn’t choose you right away. I’ll regret that until the day that I die, but I’ll prove to you that it’ll never happen again.”
“Lizzie.” I pull her into my arms and bury my face in the side of her neck.
“I wasn’t done,” she mumbles against my shirt.
“You’ll have to finish from here because I’m not letting you go.”
Her laughter fills my soul. “I sent an email to my boss on the way to the airport and told her I wouldn’t be back at the start of the school year.”
I pull back enough to look her in the eye. “You did what?”
She nods. “And then I filled out a few applications on the flight here. It might take me a while to find a job, so you might have to support me, but I promise to make it worth your while. I can pay you back in org—” Her gaze slides to Ryan.
“Please,” he says, smiling. “Don’t stop because of me.”
Lizzie’s cheeks turn red. “I forgot we weren’t alone.”
“I’ll always support you,” I tell her, ignoring Ryan’s presence. “But I didn’t want you to quit your job.”
“I also contacted our landlord and told him I wouldn’t be renewing the lease on my apartment.”
“I didn’t want you to give that up either. Lizzie, I came here to turn the job down in person.”
Ryan curses, but I ignore it.
“Wait. I thought you were moving here.”
I shake my head slowly. “I woul
dn’t make that big of a leap without you.”
“But Edna and Calvin made it sound like…” She trails off, and then she grins. “They played me.”
I stroke her cheek. “Sounds like it. Call your boss and tell her you’ll be back in August.”
“No.” Lizzie stands straight, shoulders squared.
“No?”
“That’s right. No. I want to support you. I’ll always support you, even if it means following you across the country and moving to a strange city with way too much traffic.”
“I would never ask you to give up your life like that.”
“You don’t have to ask me,” she says, cupping my cheek. “I’ll do it willingly because you are my life. I love you, Aiden, and I’m sorry that it took me a few days to get it right, but I have gotten it right. I want this for you. I want you to do this.”
“You do?”
She nods and kisses my lips.
God, I missed her kiss.
I curl my hand around her neck and angle her head to deepen the kiss. Ryan clears his throat, but I don’t stop. My tongue sweeps against hers.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she breathes against my lips. “But I still need the words. I need you to forgive me.”
“I forgive you, but only if you forgive me for not telling you right away.”
