He was resplendent, so tall and broad-shouldered, he seemed to take up all the space in the room, all the space in my heart. His jaw was darkened by stubble, framing wide, smiling lips. But it was his eyes that nearly brought me to my knees, deep and blue and regretful. Loving and longing and hopeful.
Slowly, I moved toward him, taking in every detail. He stood before a shelf of lilies, the lilies I’d admired in his little greenhouse on the roof. But one stood apart from the rest at his side, its blooms opening to reveal lilies the color of marigold, speckled with golden flecks. It was the strain he’d been working toward for so long. He’d done it.
“You’re here,” I said, disbelieving my eyes.
“I’m here. And I’m sorry.”
Hope zinged through me, emotion gripping my throat, closing it tight. His fervent eyes held me still as he spoke.
“All my life, I’ve worked at putting two things together to make one. At a glance, they seem so different, from petal to leaf, from texture to color. But somehow, they not only work. They thrive. They don’t care whether they’re different or the same—they come together and make something new, something unexpected. All this time, I’ve bred flowers to wash away their differences, and all this time, I’ve cataloged ours. But what I didn’t count on was that it wouldn’t matter to you any more than it would to a lily. And it shouldn’t have mattered to me at all.” Something in his eyes deepened, his brows drawing with his regret. “There are so many things I wish I’d done differently, so many things I wish I’d said. But more than anything, I wish I’d realized just how much I love you.”
A shaky breath, a shock that brought my fingertips to my lips.
He glanced at his hands, swallowed hard, met my eyes again. “Love doesn’t wonder. It doesn’t question. It trusts with its whole self, as I should have. And when I looked past the things I feared, I uncovered the truth—I was afraid, and I was a fool. Can you forgive me for my pride? Can you absolve me for all the ways I hurt you? Because of all the things I want, your happiness is first and always.”
I took a step toward him. Toward us. “Only if you’ll forgive me. I made you feel like you weren’t enough when you were the only thing I wanted. I dragged you into a world you wanted no part in because I wasn’t ready to choose, convinced I could have it both ways. But in the end, there was no choice to be made. Because my perfect life isn’t perfect, not without you.” I took another step, closing the gap between us.
A hitch in his chest, a bob of his Adam’s apple, his hand sliding into the curve of my waist and eyes searching mine. “Tell me you love me, Lila.”
“I’ve loved you since the start,” I said without hesitation. “I loved you before I should have and before I even knew.” I shook my head at him in wonder. “You don’t even know what a gift you are. You have no idea how you’ve changed me.”
“I didn’t want to change you.”
“Neither of us had a choice in the matter. You saved me simply by being. You showed me another life, another way, when I thought I was on a one-way street. It’s because of you that I had the courage to quit my job. I could walk away because I was walking to you.”
“Then it’s settled.”
“What’s settled?”
That smile, clever and bright. “You’re mine.”
“I’m yours,” I promised with a smile of my own.
“Can I get that in writing?” he asked archly, angling for my lips.
“Where do I sign?”
“Right here.”
Our lips brushed, melded, the seam hard within a breath and a fluttering heartbeat. We wound together, my arms around his neck, his around my waist, our bodies twisting and tightening to bring us flush. Chest to chest, hip to hip, fingers splayed as if to hold as much of the other as we could. I breathed him in, reveled in the safety found in his arms, the weightlessness of relief. The scent of him, earthy and so wonderfully masculine. The silken strands of his hair in my fingers, the stony landscape of his body surrounding me. And I surrendered myself to the sensation, to him, knowing he would honor the sacrifice with all the reverence and adoration I would give to him.
A burst of clapping snapped us apart, and we turned to find Ivy in the doorway, smiling and crying and clapping.
“I swear I left,” she said through her tears. “But I had to sneak back in to make sure you were okay, and you are. Right?” She hiccuped a sob, swiping at her cheeks.
Kash and I shared a smile before I made my way to console my sister. “Yes, we’re okay. Are you okay?”
“I think it’s my hormones. Yesterday I cried because Olive pooped for the first time in twenty-four hours. I’m a mess.” She drew a breath, straightened up, and dried her eyes. “I’m sorry. I really did only mean to peek but then … well, I saw you kissing, and before I realized what was happening, I was clapping.”
“It’s okay,” I said around a laugh.
She raised her hands, waving them palms out. “I’m going. I’m sorry. I love you two and I’m so happy for you and goodbye!” she rambled, still waving as she backed out the door, closing it behind her.
With that smile on his face, he crossed the room to take me in his arms again. “I love the apartment, by the way.”
I threaded my arms around his neck, smiling back up at him. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was going to after the wedding, but …”
“But all hell broke loose. You’re not mad Luke let me in?”
I shook my head, glancing to the bay window with eternal longing. “Not at all. I’m glad you love it. I just wish I could keep it.”
“Why can’t you?”
“I have no job. Luckily, I secured my loans before I quit. And fortunately, I finagled a year’s severance out of Caroline before I walked out.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Well, she couldn’t very well let me sue her, could she?”
He laughed, face tilting back in his surprise. “That’s my girl.”
“But even with that, I shouldn’t take on the mortgage. I’ll need to find a place half this price so I can start my own firm.”
A slow smile spread on his lips. “You’re starting your own firm?”
“With my own terms, including the right to refuse service. If I’m going to make the life for myself that I want, I’m afraid that’s nonnegotiable.”
“What else is part of that life?”
“You. Past that, I couldn’t care less.”
He scanned the room, lifting his eyes to the high ceiling. “Not this apartment?”
“In a perfect world, yes. But I’d rather live in a studio and be able to run my own business than lose my shirt on my dream apartment.”
A pause. “What if you could have it all?”
My brows quirked. “How?”
“I don’t know if you remember, but I’ve recently discovered I’m in possession of a hefty sum of money.”
“I couldn’t let you pay for my apartment, Kash.”
“Not even if I lived here?”
I frowned. “You want to rent the apartment from me?”