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My happiest place was always in his arms.
That was the gift of knowing someone all your life. You got to see every incarnation of them. I had a lifetime of chuckles to play over and over—from little boy to teenager to man.
“Not gonna be late, Cricket. I’m just calling to see if you needed me to pick up anything at the store on my way over.”
rights. “I think I’m good. Just need you.” “That’s the way it’ll always be.”
With Holt, I could simply be.
“I’d better go help him, or I’ll never get to my girl.”
“I’ll watch every twilight with you. Every moonrise, too.”
“Don’t worry, Cricket. I’ll scare the ghosts away.”
I only had one priority right then—Wren.
There was a brokenness to the noise that I’d never heard in all my life. A brokenness that had been living in Wren since that day ten years ago. A brokenness I’d left her alone in.
I wanted my body to hurt the way my soul did.
It wasn’t just one action or whispered prayer. It was all of it, coming together from the boy he had been to the man he was now.
“Tell me what you need, Cricket. Anything.”
I’ve thought about you every damn day. Wanted you with every breath. Nothing will change that. Ever. But I won’t be able to live with myself if we go there, and you regret it tomorrow. You’ve been through hell today—”
even if I didn’t have Holt forever, I could have him for this moment.
It was my turn to burn an image into my memory. And I knew this one would ruin me for all others.
God, he was gorgeous. Not just for this body, but because of the heart I knew beat beneath that muscle.
Because a fear still lived down deep; one that told me the whispers of him would be all I ever had.
“Never stopped loving you. Not for a single second.”
The husky appeared at the sound of her name, panting around a bone. Wren arched a brow. “I’m not the only one being spoiled, I see.” “Gotta work on both my girls.”
“Not going to pretend I’m not in love with you, Wren. Missed touching you. Sometimes, I’d be walking and swear I felt your hand in mine.”
“This scares me. Nothing could terrify me more than watching you turn yourself off. Watching you fade away in front of my eyes.”
“I love you, Wren. I can’t lose you.” “You have me. But you can’t keep worrying our life away. We have to live in the here and now.”
“I love you.” “The next part,” he growled, his words sending vibrations across my face. “I never stopped loving you.” Emotion filled Holt’s eyes, the dark blue turning to a color I couldn’t identify. A single tear slipped free and landed on my cheek. “Never thought I’d hear those words again.”
“Nothing could keep me from loving you.”
“Love you, Wren. Every moment of every day.”
