Page 92 of Return to Me Always

Damn it, even if Tyler didn't believe in love or destiny and we were done, I needed some answers, and I was desperate to know more about his dreams... if he would even talk to me about them. But again, what did I have to lose by asking?

Without even thinking about it, I decided to just dive right in. "So right after Malcolm shot me, you said something. You said—you said you'd been dreaming about me too."

He glanced up at me, giving me a brief nod. "Right."

That was all he was going to say? "Can you tell me more maybe? Like for how long? What dreams? You know, elaborate a little?"

"Sure, lass," he began with a chuckle. "Well, I guess they started a long time ago, even before my parents died. Just flashes sometimes of your face or the castle, sometimes longer dreams, like whole stories. Or sometimes they even had Malcolm. God, those were the worst."

I could empathize with that. "I never dreamt of Malcolm until I came here."

His brows narrowed in surprise. "Really? That's strange."

"The whole thing is strange," I mumbled, sucking in some much-needed air in anticipation of my next question. "And why didn't you ever tell me before about the dreams or where we were going even?"

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I guess I thought I'd sound mental."

"But even after I told you aboutmydreams? You couldn't have told me then?" In my frustration, I nudged his body with mine.

Not meeting my eyes, he shook his head. "I know. I'm really sorry. I should have. I just... I guess I wasn't ready. I was so weirded out by the whole thing."

As annoying and frustrating as it was, I could kind of understand. Kind of. And even though his lack of communication had driven me insane, I decided there was really no point in holding onto it, no point in keeping a grudge.

Itwasweird. All of it. Especially because the only possible explanation to everything was something I could barely admit to myself, and I was beyond curious to know if Tyler had any theories.

"So what does it all mean, do you think?" I asked in a low voice.

"Believe me, I've thought a lot about it." His sigh alone spoke volumes.

"Me too," I admitted. "Before I came to London, I assumed it was some kind of premonition."

I didn't want to add that I thought it was my fate, my destiny, to be with the man of my dreams because I knew how he felt about that already. And why would I bring that up again only to break my heart even more?

"Right. I've wondered that too."

"I know this sounds insane…" My heart began to pound at the enormity of what I had to say next. "But have you ever thought it was some kind of past life? Like we were together before?"

His breath came out in a whoosh. "That does sound insane. I mean, I don't even believe in that stuff."

Of course, he didn't. "I never did before either."

"But you do now?"

I really had no clue what to think. Everything was so jumbled in my mind, but was there any other answer that made even a little bit of sense? "I don't know," I finally confessed.

We were silent for a moment, both of us lost in our thoughts as the unanswered questions swirled around us. One of my other big concerns popped into my head.

"What about the drawings?" I asked, anticipation thrumming through me at the possible answer. "The ones at your friend's place?"

"Oh, those. Aye. I drew them," he said like it was no big deal.

My jaw dropped because anyone who could draw always amazed me, and from the brief glimpse I'd had, Tyler had serious talent. "What? That's incredible."

He looked away, clearly embarrassed. "Not really. I was just trying to make sense of it all. I tried to draw everything I could remember from the dreams—your face, the castle, even Malcolm."

Ever so slowly, the impossible puzzle pieces that had frustrated me for so long were starting to click together. "So that's how you knew where to go. From the drawings of the castle?"

Tyler nodded.

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