“Well, I’m sure they’ll be happy to check you in right away.”
She traced the satin belt of her dress absently. “And before you left me an in-person voicemail, I thought maybe I deserved closure.”
“Okay. Yeah.” And then he cocked his head and asked, “Andafterthe in-person voicemail? Did it… change anything?”
“Well, I don’t know. I wasn’t really expecting it.”
“Harper.” He squeezed his eyes closed, lashes damp. When he reached for her hands, she didn’t pull away, although they were clammy. Her body fluttered with his coarse touch, her palms warming against his. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“For what?” She lifted her chin stubbornly.
“For everything. For freaking out and pushing you away. For not telling you that I didn’t want you to go, or at least, that I didn’t want to end things between us if you had to.”She couldn’t remember closing the gap between them, but then his back was against the wall and his chest was heaving, brushing hers with every rasp, and it felt the same as it had before all of the bad things happened. Better, even. It felt like she was falling all over again.
She’d come back here to gain control of her own life, but as long as he was here, that was impossible. He left her too wild, too desperate.
“I didn’t want things to end,” he confessed, swallowing. “I never did. You make me feel –everything. You jumped over that bloody fence, and my heart wouldn’t let you go. It couldn’t. And I wouldn’t want it to, because fuck, Harper, I was just getting by before I met you. I was just trying to keep myself upright. But now I know what it’s like to fall into someone and know that they’ll catch me, and I can’t go back.” He cupped her face, eyes burning with desperation. “I’m in love with you. I’m in love with the way you laugh, the way you see the world, the way youare. And when I thought I might lose you that night, I felt like I was dying, too. I’ve never felt a fear that unbearable before. It shut me down. I’m sorry.”
She pulled his hands away when a strange, smooth texture brushed her cheek. A plaster was wrapped around his index finger. “What’s that?”
He choked on another laugh. “Your fault. I nearly cut my bloody finger off for thinking about you.”
Harper trapped down a sob. She believed him, every word, and she felt the same. The only word she could summon was, “Eejit.”
He softened. “Only for you.”
“Debatable.”
He rolled his eyes. “Did you take in anything I just said, or are you only here to insult me?”
She pretended to ponder for a moment. “Something about how you love me and you’d die without me.”
“That was the general gist, yeah. Any thoughts about that?”
She traced the jut of his stubbled chin. He was so beautiful, and he was hers, and if she ever had to let him go again, she might just die too. Or at the very least, cry about it for a long time, since she was a new and improved version of herself who allowed herself to wallowand thenmove on.
She laced her fingers through his coyly. “Well, if I was writing a confession of love in my book, I would have included a gift, just to win her over.”
He bowed his head so their noses grazed. She could see his breath, and hear it falling from him, as loud as falling trees and twice as dangerous. She had missed feeling like his. She had missed feeling like herself even more. “I believe I’ve given you several gifts.”
“Something shiny would be nice,” she teased. “I like hammers, as we established last time we were here together. I would settle for flowers, though.”
He let out an irreverent grunt and searched the pocket of his jeans, producing something silver a moment later. A key. “Is this shiny enough?”
“The key to your cabin. That’s forward.” She waggled her brows.
Another roll of his eyes. “Harper. You’re killing me. Please.”
She sighed, deliberately drawing it out for long enough to make him squirm with impatience. Finally, she pulled on his shirt, tugging him closer, then whispered into his mouth, “Obviously, I love you, too, Fraser. You’re the home I’ve been looking for all my life.”
“So that’s why they say you should fall in love with a writer.”
“You might have outdone me with your monologue, though.” She plucked the key from his palm happily, then felt one final shiver of wariness. “Are you sure?”
His features were fixed with intimate resoluteness. “The cabin was yours as soon as you walked through the door, sunshine. So was I.”
Their lips met before she could respond, and she smiled into his kiss until his tongue found hers.
She was right. He felt exactly like home, his strong arms holding her steady, never willing to let her fall.
