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The man without whom I can’t sleep, because he’s the peace that makes my brain stop shouting.
“You’re here.”
“Looks like it.”
“Why… Where did you go?”
“To the cabin for a mandatory vacation ordered by King.”
The fact that he’s back, that he’s really here and I’m not dreaming, sends a jolt of excitement through my bones. I want to jump up and hug and kiss him until I can no longer breathe.
I don’t, though.
The volcano that’s been turned to ashes by his disappearance bursts back to life and the fire nearly consumes me.
And him.
I jerk up to a standing position, leaving my milkshake on the side of the pool. “And you couldn’t tell me that? How could you just leave?”
“King wouldn’t let me say anything. He was testing me.”
“Then why are you here now?”
“Because he finally approves.”
He…does?
Oh, God. Is that why he smiled at me and hugged me before he went out this morning? Because he knew Nate was here and he approves?
I know I should be happy, and I am, but it’s shadowed by the bitterness that’s exploding at the back of my throat. “What if he’d never approved? Would you have stayed away for years?”
“Fuck no. I was just letting him cool down for a while by putting some distance between us.”
“I don’t like that word.Distance. I hate the letterD.”
He cups my cheeks with his hands. “I would never leave you willingly, Gwyneth. You’re the person I never thought I needed, but ever since you got close, my life feels incomplete without you.”
“Because I’m a little crazy?”
“Because you’re special. And also because you understand me more than anyone ever has. I meant what I said. I don’t do feelings, never believed in them, not when my own parents didn’t want me. Like you, I despise my birthdays because they remind me that my existence doesn’t matter. But what I didn’t say is that my perceptions have changed ever since you went on your tiptoes and kissed me on your eighteenth birthday. I wanted to grab you by the fucking waist and kiss you back, and I don’t even do kissing.”
My heart jolts and my eyes grow in size, not believing my ears. Not believing what Nate just said. “You wanted to kiss me?”
“More than I’ve ever wanted fucking anything, but I couldn’t, because all I could think about was that you’re King’s daughter. That’s why I avoided you these past couple of years. I wanted to push you away, but you just wouldn’t budge.”
“Yeah, Dad taught me to never give up. Especially on those I care about.”
“Then I should be thankful to him.”
“For teaching me not to give up?”
“And for being a drunk idiot and having you when he was so young.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“I’m a lucky bastard to have found you.”
“Even though I’m empty sometimes?”
