The Deepest End of Love (The Brightest Light #3)

by Lisina Coney

“Tell me what I have to do to bring back that self-confidence I know you have in you, and I’ll do it.” “You don’t have to do anything,”

“Listen to your gut. If it’s telling you to do this workshop, go ahead with it and fuck everything else—including your own self-destructive thoughts.”

“I hate it when you’re right.” “So, all the time?” “All right, Professor Presumptuous.” “I’m shaking in my boots, little criminal.”

“If you keep blushing when I tease you, I’m just going to keep doing it.”

“Reed!” Cameron. “Reed! Lila! Come here!”

“You have to come. Quickly,” he urges, dragging me by my arm.

“No. Well, we aren’t. But there’s a problem.” “What kind of problem?” Lila asks. “Cam, did you get—”

“You have to see this. Hurry!”

“Oh my God…” My heart races. “What is it?” I’m still holding on to her as I peer over her head at the children at our feet.

tiny ball of golden fur hiding under the prickly bush. “It’s a puppy.”

“It isn’t moving, though. We think it...

Not moving? Fucking hell. The last thing we need is for the kids to ha...

“Careful,” I tell Lila as she crouches lower and into the bush. “Don’t worry about me,” she says.

Like that’s possible.

“Reed,” she whispers, her eyes never leaving the puppy. “This dog is missing a little leg.” I frown. “What do you mean?”

Lila shifts the dog just slightly, and I see it then—its front legs kick around, but one of its back legs is completely missing.

“Let’s give the dog some space, yeah? We’ll tell you if it’s a boy or a girl when we come back from the vet.” “Why don’t you just…look?”

“They were going to call me Ginny. That’s a cool name.” Melody laughs. “Yeah, that’s true. Melody and Ginny. Nuts.”

“You got hurt. I could’ve grabbed it.” “I’m fine,”

“I’ll clean them up when I get home.”

“Don’t bother trying to fight this one, Lila. He’s as st...

“You’re going to be okay,” I whisper as if she can understand me. “You’re a strong girl, aren’t you?” Don’t cry now.

“We can split the vet bills. I’m not expecting you to pay for everything.”

“I’ll take care...

“What do you think of Ginny?”

I have a feeling Cameron will like it.”

He leans down until his lips are grazing my ear, an intimate gesture that feels less forbidden than it is.

He’s so close, and I can’t stop thinking about his lips on the top of my head just moments go. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for taking care of everything.” Of me.

“Where are we?” I ask Reed. A two-story detached home looms to my right, with a tiny but well-kept front garden. “My place.”

“I need you to spend the night with me.”

“I’m basically the dog whisperer, so you have nothing to worry about. You’re not alone in this, Reed.”

I need her. I need her in a raw way I don’t understand.

“And I thought your office was bursting with books,”

“How many books do you have?”

“A few hundred, I think.”

“You’ve read them all?” “Most of them. The ones down here are fiction books, but I have some academic tomes in my office upstairs. You can take a look later if you want. Grab a few for your thesis.” “You know I’ll never say no to books.”

Don’t think about Daisy. I sit on my mattress, just for a moment, and allow myself to let that open wound bleed at my feet. What the hell am I supposed to do with a puppy? Is this a cruel joke? “Fuck,” I hiss, yanking at the hair on my nape. If my parents taught me anything before my life went up in flames, it’s that I can’t take care of helpless animals. I’m not built for it.

when I spot Lila bending over Ginny’s pet carrier.

her tight leggings hug her perfectly round ass, and that’s a sight I won’t be able to forget. My cock twitches. Wearing sweatpants around her is the most idiotic idea I’ve ever had.

“Lila,” I start in a calm voice. “Talk to me.” But she doesn’t. She barely even blinks, and her watery eyes don’t move away from the puppy. Fuck it. “Come here.”

“Let it all out,” I mumble against the top of her head. “I’ve got you, angel. I’m here.”

“I don’t know why I’m crying. It’s just…” She hiccups. “She’s so small.”

“She’s okay. She was waiting for us to find her.”

“What if her wound doesn’t heal o...

Her plump lips part. She looks so fucking beautiful right now; I wonder what would happen if the distance between us disappeared.

“Focusing on the worst-case scenario is never a good idea,”

face the bad news if it ever comes. Right now, I want you to think happy thoughts. Ginny is right here with us, and she’s okay.”

Lila doesn’t think twice before wrapping the blanket tighter around her and resting her head on the pillow. On my lap.

And as I look down at her, I wonder what I’ve done to deserve her in my life.

😭😭❤⭐

“My dad is coming,” I tell Reed. “Here?” “No, to the neighbors’ house. Yes, here.”