“Oh, okay. Calling dibs on the bed though,” Rainbow called after us. “Sorry, but Brock’s had a long day. I have extra headphones for PMS.”
I shut my eyes. “Two Moons calling me PMS. Thanks, Moonbeam.”
“Trust me, PMS is an improvement over what she called you when she first saw you.”
I did not want to know.
Ryan jabbed her finger into my chest. “You can’t be here. You have work in just a few hours. And even if you’ve quit, missing appointments isn’t like you. April is supposed to be back today.” She bit her lip. “Back to normal.”
I cupped her cheek. “What the hell is normal? I don’t want it. As for April, I’m not so sure about that. Did you speak to her tonight?”
Ryan frowned. “No, why?”
Quickly, I relayed what I knew. Her frown morphed into a smile. “Nah, that’s not April. She’s not a fling girl. She only has sex on the fifth date, every time.”
“Is it a Moon family policy to tell information others are not ready for and do not want?”
Ryan jerked a shoulder. “Probably. Just saying she didn’t bang your friend and split. And while using a fake name? That’s not my bestie.”
“How many best bishes do you have anyway?”
“One. Luna. April’s second tier.”
“How unfortunate.” I slipped my hands around her waist and drew her closer to bury my face in her windswept hair. Her honey and floral scent soaked into me like a song I’d never grow tired of. “What tier am I?”
“PMS—”
“I hated that you left. I wondered if I’d ever get to tell you how I felt.” I eased back to see her eyes were wide and wary and so dark in the deepest part of the night.
But she wasn’t running away. So, I wouldn’t either.
I rubbed my thumb over her lower lip. “I wanted to say this in sunlight. It seemed important somehow. But the moon is important for us too.” I glanced up at the crescent just visible through the clouds. “The moon brought you to me.”
“Preston…” She swallowed hard enough for me to hear.
“I love you. I don’t care if it’s too fast. If it doesn’t make sense to people who aren’t us.” I gripped her hand and brought it to my chest, holding it there where my heart beat out of control for her.
And would always.
“I meant it when I said I’d wait for you. I will. I won’t rush you. I’ll give you your space.”
Tears gathered on her lashes, so silently that I couldn’t even hear her breathing. But her fingers curled into mine.
“You can take a year or a lifetime to love me back. What’s time, right? Since a week can be forever.” I caught one of her tears on my thumb. “But I’m not promising I won’t ever prod or push. I’ll wait, but I’m impatient to live my life with you. So, maybe you can pick up the pace just this once—”
She grabbed my face in her hands and kissed me hard, feeding me her tears and her laughter and her need in equal measure.
Tangled with them all, I felt her love. She didn’t say it. She didn’t have to.
When she moved back, her eyes as bright as the light of the moon, I felt something else too.
I lifted my hand to the back of my head with a wince, and she shut her ey
es. “Whoops.”
“Will you still love me if I have a bald spot?”
She giggled and fisted her hands. “I’m wicked with a pair of clippers.”