Page 150 of After All This Time

In one fluid motion, he lifts me again, carrying me to the passenger sideof the car.

The seatbelt clicks into place, and he leans in, one large hand braced on the seat. He crowds my space in the best possible way, capturing my mouth in a gentle kiss.

"One hundred and eighty-two days,"he whispers against my lips, each number a bullet to the heart. His forehead presses to mine, and I think the tenderness might kill me faster than the distance will.

He straightens and closes the door carefully before walking around to the driver's side. I know him well enough to see what he's doing—he's turning those words over in his head, trying to lock them into place and find a way to be okay with them.

"Tobias?" I say his name quietly when he finally slides into the seat beside me.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know how I know you're the right one?" My voice breaks, vulnerability laid bare.

"Tell me, Firefly."

"Because anywhere I've ever been without you has always felt like the wrong place."

His eyes soften, his walls crumbling right there in the dim light of the car. He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't need to. His gaze tells me everything I need to know.

He loves me.

Chapter 55

Tobias

The countdown haunts me. Every hour feels like a whisper of goodbye, each minute drawing me closer to the moment I'll have to let her go.

Amelia's leaving tomorrow.

I spent the last few years trying to convince myself I was building something that mattered when the only thing that ever mattered was her. Because the truth is, none of it means shit without her, I just didn't realize it.

I barely went home, and I left her behind—a guilt that eats away at me even now. Sure, I'd message her most days or call her when loneliness hit late at night, but it was never the same as being there or physically having her in my life. And over time, I started to forget what that felt like—the comfort, the connection, the way we just fit.

And then she came back. Steamrolled right through everything I thought I knew, claiming her rightful place in my world, my heart, and my fucking soul.

She's my girl. Not in some surface-level kind of way. In a way that means she's etched into my very DNA, a part of me I couldn't erase even if I tried. Our friends know. Her mom knows, though she's still skirting around the edges, probably clinging to some blissful state of denial. The only thing left is to make it official—to tell Kayla and my dad and make it real, no matter the fallout.

We're in love.

We haven't said the words. Not out loud. But they're there, hanging between us in every touch, every look,andevery breath.

But the thought of losing her tomorrow? It's a heaviness pressing against my chest, threatening to crush me.

My mind hasn't stopped spinning with these thoughts the entire drive home from work.I've got a large cheese pizza riding shotgun, and the smell is so good it's like a test of willpower not to eat it before I make it back to the apartment—but Amelia would probably have my balls, and honestly, I'm pretty attached to them.

It's not fancy. It's not a grand gesture. But it's us—perfectly, beautifully us.

I would've taken her anywhere she wanted to go. I would've pulled out all the stops—wined her, dined her, given her the full date-night treatment. But that's not who we are. We've known each other so long that we don't have to pretend. Fancy dinners and showy displays aren't us.Usis staying in, stuffing our faces with pizza, watching movies, and being unapologetically ourselves.

Amelia's in the kitchen, on her tiptoes, moving around like she's trying to put her whole world in order. She doesn't see me right away, and I take a second to watch her. She’s wearing a tight tank top that clings to her in all the right ways, paired with loose sweatpants.

I set the pizza down and lean against the doorframe, memorizing this moment. Tomorrow is coming too fast, but tonight she's here, and I'm not going to waste a single moment.

"You know you're not fooling anyone, Mills. Tiptoes or not, you're still a short-ass," I tease, leaning casually against the doorway.

She spins around, caught off guard, but the smile that lights up her face when she sees me completely ruins me.

Don't bring up her leaving. Just enjoy tonight.

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