Page 116 of When Love Found Us
“I’d die for you,” I murmur against her skin. “Kill for you. Live for you. Whatever you need, baby, it’s yours. Always.”
She exhales, soft and shaky, wrapping herself around me.
And I don’t pull away.
I just hold her.
Her arms are warm around me, grounding me, keeping me here when everything else feels too big, too much.
For the first time in so fucking long, I feel like I can breathe.
Like I can finally—finally—rest.
ChapterForty-Three
Atlas
Two days.
We spend two whole days in our place . . . bonding. That’s how Blythe likes to describe it.
Me? I called it fucking like rabbits.
She didn’t love that phrasing.
Can she blame me, though? I’ve been holding back since the first time I wanted to kiss her, touch her, make her mine.
And now?
Now, I can’t get enough.
But right now, she’s out with her friends, and I’m at the shop.
We’ve got plans for the parlor, and—yeah. This isn’t a two-year challenge anymore.
This is my life now. A life I want to share with her.
Which is why I finally posted the announcement—this is where people can find me now. Clients, artists, anyone looking for me. No more bouncing between shops, no more couch surfing or renting a place for the season.
I’m done with that lifestyle. The one where I don’t give two fucks if I belong, where I just exist.
And speaking of making things permanent—my lawyer is already looking into changing Blythe’s name. She doesn’t have to marry me to become Blythe Timberbridge . . . but I plan on proposing anyway.
I want her forever. Her, our daughter . . . maybe a couple of more kids that will start our family.
I’m sketching out a design for tomorrow’s client when a knock sounds at the shop door.
I expect Malerick. He tried to swing by yesterday, but I told him—politely—to fuck off. I was with my woman.
But when I look up and see Ledger standing behind the glass, I go still.
I was not expecting him.
I set my pencil down and push to my feet, unlocking the door with zero hesitation.
I swing it open. “What the fuck do you want?”
He exhales, hands shoved in his pockets. “I had no idea?—”
