Page 111 of Seal the Deal

Jake shifts behind me, and I hear the soft click of his phone as he starts a playlist. Music drifts into the air, the kind of background noise that lets the quiet feel even more intimate. I’m about to say something when the first few notes of a familiar song play, and my eyes fly open.

Iris.

I freeze, instantly transported back to a different time. My cheeks heat as a flood of memories rush back—singing this very song in the camp kitchen, scrubbing pots and thinking I was alone. Of course, I wasn’t. Jake had been watching.

“Oh God,” I groan, sliding deeper into the water. “You remember this?”

Jake chuckles, his mouth brushing my ear. “How could I forget? You were giving the performance of a lifetime, scrubbing those pots like a rockstar.”

“I wassooff-key,” I mutter, but he squeezes my hips.

“You were perfect,” he says, pulling me closer. “You got so caught up in it, like nothing else existed. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

I laugh despite myself, the warmth in his words melting away my embarrassment. “I just really loved that song. It always got to me, you know?”

Jake’s fingers trail up my arm, his touch steady and reverent. “You told me that you loved it because the lyrics meant something real to you. About loving someone so much you’d let them see you, flaws and all.”

I swallow, feeling the weight of his gaze on me, the playful tension shifting into something deeper.

“Yeah,” I say. “I guess I did.”

He leans closer, his voice a low murmur in my ear. “Charlie, you’re the only one who’s ever seen me like that. You saw past the bravado, that hockey swagger and all the crap I hid behind. You just saw me—the kid who didn’t have a damn clue who he was.”

My throat tightens, and I turn in his arms, wanting to see his face. The look in his eyes is unguarded. He’s not just saying this, he means every word.

“I should’ve kissed you that summer,” he says softly. “I should’ve told you how I felt under those stars.”

“We were just kids,” I whisper, fingers trailing along his jaw. “We didn’t know what we were doing.”

“I did.” His hands cup my face, thumbs brushing my cheeks. “I knew even back then that you were it for me. I thought time and distance would make it easier, but seeing you again has just made me more sure of what I lost. And this time, I’m not letting you go.”

A fierce protectiveness blooms in his eyes, and my heart pounds in my chest as I realize he’s been waiting for me. Waiting for me to understand what we’ve been dancing around for months, maybe even years.

“Do you remember karaoke the other night?” he asks suddenly.

I cringe, recalling my drunken attempt to pry out his feelings. “I was out of my mind, Jake. Don’t make me relive that.”

He chuckles, eyes twinkling. “You were trying to get me to say something.”

“Yeah… I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“I was,” he says, voice dropping. “I wanted to tell you then, but I didn’t want it to be like that. Couldn’t risk that you might not remember every word.”

My eyes move to his and I try to respond, but no words come out. It’s hard to believe someone could love me like this, so wholly and completely. I’m frozen, overwhelmed by the weight of this moment as he speaks.

"Twelve years, Lady Lightning. That's 4,514 sunsets since the last one we had on that hill. Countless games… A lifetime of moments without you." His voice catches, head shaking slightly like he still can’t quite believe how much time has passed.

And all I can do is stare back.

“I love you, Charlie. I think I’ve loved you all along, even before I knew how to say it. You’re the reason nothing else ever felt right, the reason I waited without realizing I was even waiting. And I swear to you," his voice pauses, wavering slightly, "you’ll never doubt this. You’llneverwonder how much I love you, because I’ll make sure you feel it. Every damn day.”

I’m speechless as his words wrap around me, floating up between us in the steam and sinking deep into the spaces within me. He doesn’t just love me now—he loves every part of me, every version of who I’ve been and who I am.

For the first time in so long, I feel whole in a way I never thought was possible. My heart pounds as I meet his gaze, his emotions wide open, waiting.

“I love you, too,” I whisper, the words trembling but certain. “So much, Jake. More than I ever thought I could.”

A slow, breathtaking smile breaks across his face, his hands cradling my cheeks as he pulls me into a tender kiss.

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