I felt a pang of guilt over the fact that I hadn’t been to see her since Adam and I…what? Split up?
They slowly made their way to her front porch, and he unlocked the door, ushering her inside. Soon every light blazed downstairs, just as she liked it.
I thought about going to help him, but I knew Mrs. Hamilton would be tired, so I thought it best not to intrude. I sat down on the steps, just as he had done at my house days before, and I waited. Twenty minutes later, I saw him come out of the front door and make his way to his house. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped at the screen.
A few seconds later, my phone vibrated. I looked down at the message and couldn’t help smiling.
I need to see you. Please call me.
He was only a few feet away and still didn’t know I was there. I stood up, slipping my phone in my pocket. “I needed to see you too,” I said softly, though I might as well have shouted. Adam startled, jumping back almost afoot.
“Fucking hell, Galloway, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
I doubled over, holding my stomach, howling with laughter. “Your face was priceless!” I wheezed, trying to get my breath.
“Such a comedian.” He chuckled, cocking his head to the side. “Did you learn how to teleport? How did you get over here so fast?”
“I was already here,” I admitted.
He tucked his hands into his pockets and looked so much like the boy he used to be. “I was going to come to you. But then I got the call that Mrs. Hamilton was going to be released. They couldn’t get hold of her son, big surprise. Otherwise, it would have been me waiting at your door.”
“You had to take care of Mrs. Hamilton. She needed you.”
He walked closer until we were standing practically toe to toe. I had to crane my neck to look up at him. He always made me feel delicate, dainty even, like he was my big, awesome protector, whether I wanted him to be or not.
“Are you going back to New York?” he asked without preamble.
I swallowed and looked away. “I had planned to leave this weekend.”
“This weekend,” he repeated.
I nodded. I opened my mouth to say I was pretty sure I had changed my mind. That I was tired of fighting what I was feeling. That this thing that had blossomed between us meant more than anything. That I was painting for the first time in years. That I had him to thank for that. That I had fallen back in love with our small town, and I was happier here than I had ever been before. That New York didn’t hold the allure it used to now, that I had discovered what it meant to truly be alive.
But he didn’t let me say any of that.
He took my hands and placed my palms over his heart. I could feel the steady thud beneath my fingers. “If you go to New York, I’m following you.”
Whatever I expected him to say, it wasn’t that. “What did you say?” I gaped at him in surprise.
“I mean it. I know I said I wouldn’t chase you, but that was a fucking lie. I’d chase you to the ends of this goddamn Earth if I had to. I’ve waited twenty-eight years to be with you. I won’t let you slip out of my life so easily.”
“Adam, let me speak—”
“Just hear me out. I’ve been rehearsing this in my head all evening since my parents and Lena told me to go get you. But then I got the call from the hospital, so there was a detour.”
“Your parents and Lena told you to go get me?” I asked in amusement, wishing I had been there for that particular conversation.
“If you won’t stay, then we leave together. I’ll go wherever you want to go. If that’s New York, then I’m going with you. If you want to go to Timbuktu, then I’ll build us a hut in the middle of the jungle because nothing matters as long as we’re together.”
“Seriously, Adam, take a breath,” I said, trying to get him to hear me. To tell him I felt the same. But he kept going.
He cupped my face between his hands, his eyes warm and intent on mine. “I love you, Meghan Galloway. I’ve loved you forever, and I plan to love you until we’re old and they put us in the ground beside each other.”
“That’s morbid,” I teased, my eyes filling with tears.
“And in the next life, I’ll love you still. And the one after that. And the one after that.”
I took a shuddering breath. “It’s you and me, Ducate,” I whispered.
His eyes brightened, and he leaned down to kiss me. “It’s you and me, Galloway.”