Page 109 of Falling Into Forever
“Did you know that Grady and Lena have met before?”
“What? When?” Surprise radiates off her like static cling.
I shrug. “I’m not sure. Neither of them will talk, but somehow, they’re connected through her brother, Luke.”
Saylor tenses in my arms and is quiet for a long time. “Just because someone has a story doesn’t mean we’re entitled to it. They’ll tell us when they’re ready.”
I’m not happy about it, but she’s right, so I let it go. “I’m going to fly out tomorrow.”
She nods. “Okay.”
“I’m not sure how long it’ll take. I’d like to figure everything out so I never have to set foot in California again, but there’s a lot to do. I’m going to shut down Ascendancy.” This isn’t news. We lay in bed last night, discussing every possible scenario until sunrise.
This is the fastest and cleanest way to be rid of Trent. He has nothing left to hurt us with, so there’s no reason to hang on to something that doesn’t exist anymore.
“I emailed a realtor this morning about putting my house on the market, but we’ve never talked about a permanent living situation.”
Her breathing turns shallow against my chest, and her clammy palms dampen my T-shirt.
“Sayls, I’ll do whatever you want. If you want me to find my own place, I’ll find one as close to you as I can possibly get.” I cup her chin, drawing her face toward mine. “If you want me to stay with you, I’ll do that too. There’s no pressure, and there’s no wrong answer. The ball is completely in your court, and I support you either way. I’m not going anywhere.”
“I mean…” She tries to pull away, but I hold tighter to her chin. “If you want to stay here, I won’t kick you out.”
Warmth settles over my heart. There’s my sweet, sassy girl.
“Is that right?” I inch closer to her face.
“I guess. You’ll probably be a big baby about it if you have to find a place of your own. There’s not much turnover in Hope Hollow.”
“So, you’re saying you’re doing me a favor.”
“Yes.”
Laughter lightens the load weighing heavily on my shoulders. “Well, I guess I should thank you for your very magnanimous favor then, right?”
Her breath hitches when she understands my meaning. The skin stretches over her neck as she arches into me, and her pulse beats erratically.
“I guess so,” she nearly whimpers.
Gently, I place my lips on hers. It’s a quick kiss. Chaste almost, but we need to talk about one more thing first.
“It could be a few weeks, Saylor. I have no idea how long things will take in California, even with hiring other people to pack for me.”
“I figured it would,” she says in a daze, and when she stares at my lips, my cock nudges my zipper.
“Did you?” I ask gently. “Do you also know that I am coming back no matter how long it takes?”
The passage in her book about waiting for me breaks my heart whenever I think about it. I don’t, for one minute, ever want her feeling like that again. The pain she wrote about? It crushed her, and it torments me that it did.
“I’ll empty a drawer for you,” she says cheekily.
Arching one brow, I wait for her smile to break free. “One drawer? How generous of you.”
“You’ll have to earn the other ones.” She moves slowly at first, away from me and placing her feet on the floor. I allow it because I’m ready for what happens next.
She takes off running to the bedroom, but I catch her before she reaches the door.
“Earn it, hmm?”
