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Luca blinks, surprised. “I would’ve thought you’d want your sister to win.”

Juliette shrugs coyly. “I mean, I love Octavia, but she’s not my soulmate.”

Luca tilts her head. “She’s dating Leo Mantovani, right?”

Juliette nods. “They’re soulmates.”

“They seem like they fit,” Luca says, remembering how easily it seemed that they twined together.

“They do, but they’re still… complicated,” Juliette says with a wince. “Love is complicated, I guess.”

It’s an impulse, but Luca tugs the wristband free of Juliette’s wrist. Her gaze burns the side of Luca’s face. “Does it have to be?” Luca asks softly. Luca turns their linked hands and gently traces the familiar curve of her name. A shudder cascades through Juliette. “I don’t think it’s the love that’s complicated. I think it’s us. Humans.”

Juliette’s smile gleams like the crescent moon. “Are you getting philosophical now, Lux?”

Luca is grateful for the darkness as her cheeks heat. “Maybe,” she murmurs. She shuffles and heaves herself into a sitting position but keeps her legs draped over Juliette. She wraps her free arm around Juliette’s shoulders, anchoring herself upright. Slowly, she lifts Juliette’s arm and presses a barely there kiss to her own name.

Juliette’s breath rattles as she exhales, shaky, across Luca’s face. “I’ve always—” Luca starts, but she breaks off. Juliette’s stare brightens.

“What?” Juliette’s voice is husky but urgent, nearly desperate. “You’ve always what?”

Luca bites her lip and swallows. “Isn’t it obvious?” she asks, digging her fingers into the soft curls she’s always been fond of. “I’ve always liked you, Jules,” she admits finally, into the silence. Her heart throbs against her breastbone, and an ache she’s carried forever balloons outward. “I’m drawn to you. Sometimes the tug is so strong that it hurts.”

Juliette sighs, and for a heartbeat, Luca fears that Juliette is about to tell her this was all a mistake, that Luca’s feelings are too intense. She shovels the fear into a hole and forces herself to stay relaxed, but the longer Juliette stays quiet, the more her throat tightens.

“Shit, Luca,” Juliette whispers, “you make it so hard.”

Luca tenses, the words raking down her spine like hot coals. Her hand goes limp, but Juliette’s grip tightens. “Excuse me?”

“No, no, no,” Juliette says quickly, desperate again. “Fuck, sorry, I’m not saying this right. I don’t want to freak you out.”

“Little late for that,” Luca wheezes, hating how shrill her voice has gone. Every nerve in her body lights up with anxiety.

“I love you,” Juliette says, the words rushed out in a whoosh. “I love you, I love you, I love you,” she repeats, like a prayer.

Luca is too stunned to respond, even though every bone in her body screams at her to say it back.

“I know it’s too early, but I love you. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought it and almost said it. It won’t fix our problems, and it won’t magically make us work, but—I love you.” Juliette’s head drops, as if holding on to the three little words had kept her upright and functioning and now saying them has cut all the little strings.

All Luca can conjure up to say is “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Juliette blinks, but before she can question it, Luca hauls her into a kiss because it’s the only logical thing she can do. The kiss is sloppy, and bruising, but it’s necessary. Luca’s body is soaked in flame, heat budding across her skin like blisters.

Luca rips her mouth off Juliette’s and shakes her head. “I was going to say it first.”

“Oh,” Juliette gasps, and then she’s laughing. “Should we start over then?” she asks through giggles.

Luca groans and lets go of Juliette, flopping back onto the pillows.

Juliette is still laughing as she shifts Luca’s legs. And then her knees are planted on either side of her hips and she’s leaning over her, fingers wrapping around Luca’s wrists and peeling her hands away from her face. Juliette grins down at her, curls framing her face, and slowly, she lifts Luca’s hands over her head, pressing her wrists into the pillows.

Heat pulses through Luca, and she squeezes her thighs together, suddenly desperate for Juliette to touch her somewhere else. Juliette is still laughing, her sunlike smile crinkling the corners of her eyes.

“Come here, you idiot,” Luca says, tilting her chin up.

Juliette giggles against her mouth as she swoops down to kiss her. It’s messy and exploratory, deepening as Juliette sinks into kissing her breathless.

Luca whimpers, intoxicated by the luxurious grapefruit and sandalwood scent overwhelming her. She’s dizzy when Juliette finally pulls back, letting go of her wrists to brush Luca’s hair off her face. Luca cups Juliette’s cheeks, and she thrills when Juliette tilts into the touch, her face softening. “I love you,” she says, and the words are finally free from the cage inside her heart. “I love you.”