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“Yes, I do!” she raises her voice a little higher than mine.
I scoff. “Last time I checked, you weren’t a psychic! There’s no fucking guarantee she won’t eventually leave again. She could realize that her new perfect life is so much better than this one, and that scares the fucking shit out of me!”
“Oh my God, you’re not listening,” she grumbles. “She. Isn’t. Going. Anywhere.”
“And how do you know that?”
She throws her hands in the air. “Because she quit the studio two weeks ago, you blockhead!”
Wait, what the fuck?
My jaw drops, my brain running circles as it tries to make sense of that new information. “Why didn’t she tell me?”
“You’ll have to ask her that,” she says with a shrug. “Look, I understand not trusting her and having to work your way back to that. There’s a lot of damage to be repaired. But if you keep holding her at a distance, she’s going to give up, and that will be on you. I hope you know that.”
It’s not a foreign concept. That thought has passed through my mind plenty of times, especially how she’s been acting the last few days. But I kept feeling like there was something holding me back. Like I needed something to free me from the clutches of fear and anxiety.
Mali’s confession may have been exactly that.
I TOLD MYSELF Along time ago that I would always do whatever it takes to put a smile on Laiken’s face. And as I stand here, watching happy she is at the sight of all her friends here to celebrate her birthday, I know that’s still true. There’s nothing better than the way she lights up. Except maybe the way she lights up at the sight ofme.
“You did this?” she asks.
I had planned on letting Cam take all the credit for it. Saying it was him felt like the safer option. But standing here, looking at her while knowing what Mali told me, I’m not sure I need the scapegoat anymore.
“I may have had something to do with it,” I reply.
Somehow, she becomes even happier. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she arches up on her tiptoes and kisses me softly. And as she pulls away, I find myself chasing her mouth for another.
“Thank you,” she says.
I smile back at her and nod toward the beach. “Come for a walk with me?”
She tries to control her breathing, but I can tell she’s nervous. Not that I blame her. I haven’t exactly given her a reason not to be lately. I was going to wait until after the party, but I can’t. I need to do this now.
Putting out my hand, she exhales in relief as she takes it and the two of us walk toward the beach.
“Don’t get sand in places you don’t want it!” Owen yells. “Hurts like a bitch!”
I chuckle, but I’m more focused on the way Laiken giggles. It’s not often that I’ve gotten to see her so carefree like this. And I know that’s partly my fault, but I’m hoping to change that.
“So, I found something out today,” I tell her.
She looks up at me. “Oh?”
I stop walking, turning her to face me. “You quit your job at the studio?”
Her eyes fall closed as she sighs. “Mali, I swear to God. Nothing is sacred anymore.”
“I don’t get it though. Why would you quit?”
She shrugs. “They wanted me to come back to working in person, which wasn’t something I was willing to do.”
My heart is racing as I stare at her in complete awe. “But that job is your dream.”
“No, H,” she says softly, looking right into my eyes, “Youare my dream.”
The widest grin I’ve had in the last year and a half forces its way through. I reach up and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear then graze my thumb over her cheek as I lean in. We meet in the middle, and the kiss we share warms me from the inside out. It’s slow and delicate, like we’re both just enjoying the feeling of being close to each other.
