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“No, I mean, because we don’t really know each other…I don’t know. I got all in my head about it. Like, you’ve been his mom and his dad all this time. I don’t want to rock the boat too much—"
She kissed me. “Rock it all you want, Everett. I want us to figure this out together. There will be weird times and bad times, but as long as we want to do this together, we can do it.”
I nod, and my gratitude for this woman knows no bounds. “Aria, you are an amazing woman. You have done incredible work with our son, and against all the odds, he’s this fascinating, well-adjusted, smart kid with a giant heart and an even bigger imagination. I am in awe of you, and I love you. It’s too soon, you don’t have to say it back. But I don’t care if you do or not. I had to say it. I love you.”
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33
Aria
I can’t believe he said that. I’m so stunned, I stare at him for far too long. He gives me a wary side-eye, then says, “Okay, you don’t have to say it back, but you can saysomething—"
“Oh my god, I thought it was too soon to say it,” I blurt.
“It probably is, but I don’t care about other people’s opinions. I care about yours.”
I’m smiling so hard that my face hurts. “Everett, I love you, too. But I was scared to say anything, because I didn’t want to chase you off.”
“Really? You’re not just saying that because this was a strange moment?”
I giggle. “I’m used to strange moments. Comes with the territory of being a teacher and a mom. I said it because I mean it. This is nuts, and I know it is, but I’ve loved you on some level since we met. It’s like—"
“Two pieces of a puzzle finally coming together?”
He stole the words right out of my mouth. Nodding, I’m on the verge of tears, and I can’t stop them. “We just fit, don’t we? I’m not deluding myself, am I?”
Everett wipes my cheek and kisses me gently, and my body melts against his. “If you are deluding yourself, then we both are. I’ve never felt like this about anyone, Aria.” He laces his fingers with mine, then kisses the back of my hand. “I hated leaving you all those years ago. But I was a scared kid. I had a plan, and I was going to stick to it come hell or high water. Stupid, really. But when we met, and things just clicked and kept clicking that night, it was as if I’d found my home, and I was scared because being trapped in Somerset Harbor was always a fear of mine when I was young. My grandparents and parents all did that, and they built our family’s business from it. But they gave up so much of the world to do that. I didn’t want to give up seeing the world because I found someone I connected with, and I bolted, and part of me hates that I did that—"
“I don’t.”
His brows jumped up his forehead. “Really?”
“Really. Everett, neither of us were ready for this back then. Hell, I wasn’t ready for Owen either, but that worked out. Point is, this, what we have and what I think we could have, is amazing. But I wasn’t the person I am now back then, and neither were you, and that’s okay.Now, I’m ready for everything this might be. I want it. I wantyou.”
Nervously, he asks, “You don’t hate me anymore?”
I try to keep my laugh from waking Owen. “Not at all. I love you with all my heart.”
“I could live forever and never tire of hearing that.”
Too many emotions come up at once, and I kiss him. “I don’t want you to give up the world to be with me, either. If you want to travel, then that’s great. I want you to. Don’t give up on your dreams because of us. We’ll be here when you get back.”
He hooks his hand around the back of my head and presses me to his lips. “Aria, I want you to come with me.”
“But what about Owen?”
He laughs. “He will come with us. See, that’s the thing I screwed up last time. I thought love would be an anchor, weighing me down. But I didn’t realize I could give you wings instead. This isn’t the end of an adventure for me. It’s the beginning of adventures forus. I love you, Aria Bueller, and I’m not going anywhere without you ever again.”
I didn’t know what to say, because I didn’t want to ruin a perfectly wonderful romantic sentiment with reality. But it came anyway. “Everett, I can’t afford to travel like that.”
He only smiles. “I can. For all of us. It’s not an issue.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. You’re my people now. I take care of my own.”
Too many panicking thoughts come to mind. When I think of his family’s money, it scares me. I’d thought it would be a relief, but it’s just the opposite. I don’t want anyone to say we’re together because I trapped him or something terrible like that. None of us deserves that kind of reputation, especially Owen. My mind hopscotches from ugly thought to ugly thought. “I want to keep working. I won’t be a kept woman and have people think that’s the reason I’m with you.”
