This is the first heart-to-heart I’ve had with Isla, but I’m going to ensure it’s the first of many. “I hope I was nice to you,” I say, unsure if I want to know the answer.
Isla smiles. “You always were. You may have had a tough exterior, but we all do…look at who our mother is.”
Touché.
We go to stand, but I follow my gut and throw my arms around Isla. She freezes as I’m not even sure if this is a thing we do. But she soon reciprocates. “Even though you were always nice…I like this Peyton better,” she whispers, hugging me tighter.
I smile because I couldn’t agree more.
On the way back to my house, Isla and I catch up on everything. It seems now that the cat is finally out of the bag, she can talk freely, without fear of saying something wrong. Talking to her has made me see that I wasn’t such an awful person.
Yes, I sounded like a hard-ass who had some serious baggage, but my past wasn’t exactly what you’d expect from someone of my social standing to be like. I pulled away from the lavish lifestyle because here was always my home.
However, when Isla pulls up in my driveway, and I see Cayden sitting on my front steps, I know that it’s him, not here, that always brought me back.
“Thanks. Let’s catch up for coffee when I’m not a hysterical mess.”
Isla bursts into laughter, but she isn’t without tears. We bonded, and it seems like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. I hope we can move forward from here. We hug goodbye while I open the door and take a deep breath.
It’s time to face the music.
Cayden comes to a stand, watching me closely as I keep my eyes peeled to the ground. I don’t know what to say. It’s been information overload, and all I really want to do is curl up and switch off. But I owe Cayden an explanation of how I’m feeling. He too is lost and scared, and I need him to know that we’re in this together.
“Snow…I’m—”
But I don’t allow him to continue. I rush forward and throw myself into his arms. His surprise is evident, but he catches me just the same. “I’m sorry I left.” It’s on the tip of my tongue to add, again, but I don’t.
“It doesn’t matter. You’re back now,” he says into the crook of my neck as he squeezes me tight. “I know it’s a lot to take in. I wish I had something less complicated to offer you, but this is us—a beautiful mess.”
It sums us up perfectly.
We stay hugging for minutes, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let him go now that I know our past. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for Cayden this entire time, knowing what we shared. I hope my memories will one day return, but if they don’t, I’m more than ready to make new ones.
“What are we going to do?” I whisper, savoring his scent, his touch.
“I don’t know yet, but I won’t let anything happen to you again. I promise.”
“We can’t go to the police, can we?” I know the answer, but I need to hear it all the same.
“No, we can’t. I don’t have any proof, and to tell them what I think means we’ll have to tell them what we did.”
He’s right.
“So we wait?” It sounds so dismal, waiting for the Big Bad Wolf to come blow down our houses. But Cayden shakes his head.
“We don’t wait. We live. We be vigilant, but I refuse to allow that asshole to take you away from me once again.”
We break apart, and he gently traces the slope of my nose before fingering my lips. I can’t help the moan which leaves.
“Can I kiss you?”
He’s asking for permission because he doesn’t know where we stand, a common occurrence between us.
But I will not succumb to the ghosts as I will live in the now.
“Yes.”
He swoops forward, slamming his mouth to mine, uniting us as one. I meet him with everything that I have, fisting his hair because I can’t get close enough. Our tongues duel, fighting for control, but I eventually give in because it feels so good. Cayden doesn’t just kiss. He devours, and I turn to mush against him.
Something is different about this kiss, and I suppose that’s because we are kissing, full disclosure. I know everything, and although troubled, I feel closer to the man who I have loved since I was a child.
The thought leaves me heady, and I cling to him, his strength singing to my own.
“Let me take you out,” he says against my lips, his breath hot and heavy.
“Out where?”
“Anywhere,” he replies, suckling my bottom lip. “I want to show you how good we are together.”
I whimper, almost sliding down his body with a quiver rocking me. “Okay.”
He can’t hide his happiness. “This is us, Snow, and I intend to remind you how we belong.” When he wraps his hand around the back of my neck, robbing me of breath, I can’t wait to uncover all the ways.