“You know I do.”
“Then I’ll make more room for your clothes.”
A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. “You’re probably the only man who willingly gives away his drawer space.”
He swiped at some of my tears. “I’d give up the whole damn room if you asked me to.”
“That’s not necessary. I don’t have that much stuff. I will need a little office space. I have this boss who expects me to work some nights and weekends.”
“Baby, I never once said you had to put in all those hours.”
“It’ll be worse since I have almost a month to make up for and—”
“Ari, sweetheart. You have staff. They’ve been receiving the orders you placed and they have your collage. They know your exact vision and have been moving forward.”
“With everything?”
“Yes.”
Oh, thank God! And how fantastic that they’d found the collage when Amano had returned my laptop and bag to the Lux. I’d packed the collection of photos in there to show Dane.
“So I’m not behind?”
“Not that I’m aware of, though no one in your department works as hard as you. And they’ve missed you.”
“So, it’s okay that I come back?”
“More than okay. I couldn’t pull off this launch without you.”
“It means a lot to me, Dane. Because it’s your dream.”
His fingers grazed my cheek, the one that had healed. He stared deep into my eyes and said, “I hadn’t realized, until you started working there and embraced everything about the Lux the way I do, that a dream is infinitely more important—more personal—when you share it with someone.”
“I fell in love with it. As much as I fell in love with you.”
He crooked a brow.
I laughed. “Of course that’s not possible. I am ridiculously, insanely, hopelessly in love with you.”
He brushed more tears from my face and said, “Then no more crying. No more worrying. No more fear. Because I’m going to make sure everything is perfect for you.”
“Dane, that’s a promise you can’t make. All I’m asking is that … we’re safe.”
His lips swept over mine and the electric current returned. “Amano is working with me. Ethan and the others, too. It’ll be different this time, Ari.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here. Kyle said…” I shook my head, not wanting to get my friend in hot water. But needing to clear the air. “He said you weren’t yourself. Without me. Amano said you were in bad shape, too.”
He glowered. “So happy to hear everyone’s been keeping tabs on my mood.”
“You’re sort of hard to miss, brooding or not. But when you’re in a mood, yeah, people tend to no—”
“Your point is?” he asked, spearing me with a look.
“I’m just saying that … I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe you could accept how I feel. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe in you.”
His head dipped and he kissed me. A slow, sexy one that drew me in and nearly made me forget my own name. I gripped his biceps, having missed his rock-hard muscles beneath my fingertips.
When he turned the heated kiss into a teasing tangling of our lips, I whispered, “Dane. I need you.”