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He closed the gap between them. “I will never hurt you again, Max.”
She stared into his eyes, her heart pounding.
“Can you trust me?”
“You know I trust you.”
He moved his head closer, his eyes boring into hers. “And do you think you could love me?”
She glanced up at him. “If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t have felt like a part of me was missing since you left.”
“You’ve felt that too?” For the first time since he arrived, his lips half-smiled.
Her heart stammered. “Yep. A lot.”
She looked up at him and her stomach clenched. He brushed his lips over hers. “I love you. I love you in a total, overwhelming, forever kind of way. I always will.”
Her laugh was unsteady. “Forever, huh? I thought we were just talking about dating.”
“To start with, sure.”
“And then what?”
“Well, I thought we could spend a week on the boat,” he suggested, dropping his mouth once more, nipping at her lower lip.
She smiled. “Just a week?”
“Forever?”
“Forever sounds about right.”
“I could honestly live here, you know,” she stretched her arms over her head, smiling as the water bobbed beneath the boat.
“We might need a bigger boat,” Noah grinned ruefully, looking around at the mix of books, laptops and clothes that were strewn across the bedroom.
“Fine by me.” Max flipped onto her stomach, running a hand over his naked chest before pressing a kiss to his chest.
Three months after Noah’s return to London, they’d been on the boat almost nonstop. Max had started to lose track of time and days.
“I think your tattoo is wrong, my love.” She propped her chin on his chest. “It turns out, the path to the stars is easy after all. It starts with love.”
Later that night, beneath stars that were twinkling against a velvet black sky, the night turning cool as the seasons changed, Noah waited until they’d eaten dinner before reaching into his pocket and removing a small, black velvet box.
“You’re the meaning to my life, Max. I didn’t know until I met you that I was incomplete, but now that I know you, I can’t imagine ever spending another day without you.” He crouched down on one knee, the boat’s gentle rocking adding to Max’s shifting heart.
“What’s that?” She blinked at the box, her pulse racing.
He cracked the lid open to reveal a diamond solitaire ring. “A promise.”
“Oh?”
“To love you for every single day, for as long as we both shall live; if you’ll let me.”
Her fingers trembled as she held out her hand to him. He slid the ring onto her finger and stood, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her into the air.
And Max believed him.
With all of her heart, soul, body and mind, she knew that Noah Storm was her life and future, and always, always would be.
