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His amber eyes soften as he lowers his face and kisses me.

I curl my fingers into his cut, pulling him hard against me. “There’s no if about it, Luella. We are making this work.”

“How were you suddenly so sure about me?” I ask. It’s something that’s been playing on my mind. “I’m not the same girl I was back then. And you went from not wanting me to being all in.”

“I always wanted you, but my demons just wouldn’t let me have you. I just tried to fight it when you surprised me by showing up here. I don’t like surprises, and I don’t like thinking you were there hooking up with one of my brothers. I acted like a dick.”

“How’s that fight going for you?” I smirk.

“How long are you going to throw that in my face?” he murmurs, pushing me back against the wall and caging me in.

“I don’t know.”

“I should have picked you up and thrown you over my shoulder that night,” he mutters, then sighs. “And to answer your question. No, you’re not the same girl. You’re a woman now. But our connection is the same. That never changed. And that’s what I’ve been unconsciously looking for and never found again,” he admits, searching my gaze. “I never got in a serious relationship, and I know you didn’t either. And looking back, I know now it’s because no other woman was you.”

“And how do you know that?” I ask, my brow furrowing.

He plants a kiss just below my ear. “I know everything about you.”

My brow arches. “Not directly from the source, though.”

He licks his lower lip. “Baby, you give me everything I need from the source. I’m hungry again just thinking about it.”

I glance behind me at Ora, whose back is to us as she cooks. “Let me finish helping Ora and then maybe I can.” I walk my fingers up his cut, over his treasurer patch. “Feed your hunger.”

He lowers his voice to a soft, deep rumble. “Meet me in bed in an hour. I want you naked and on your knees with your hands on the headboard. I’m going to make you come so hard.”

Does it matter how we got here?

We’re here now, and I need to enjoy it.

No, I need to live it.

This is no longer a dream—this is my reality.

And I’m going to do it by gripping that headboard and holding on for dear life.

HAZE

Later that evening, I’m sitting by the pool playing my guitar and singing my new songs. Luella is sitting on the lounger next to me, a glass of wine in her hand, staring up at the stars as she listens to me play. When a tear drops down her cheek, I know she understands the lyrics and realizes they are for her.

But she doesn’t interrupt.

Instead, she listens, soaking up the moment.

An hour passes before I put my instrument down and cuddle up beside her. My phone has been going off, Aspen wanting me back at the house. I don’t want to leave Luella, but I know if I don’t return, she will just up and leave.

“I have to go and check on Aspen tonight,” I tell her, and she nods, resting her head on my chest.

“Will she go back to rehab?”

“I hope so,” I reply, burying my fingers in her curls and gently massaging her scalp. “The last place let her check herself out, so she didn’t last long. But there’s a ninety-day program, and I’d really like her to agree to go to that.”

“Will you be back tonight?” she asks, and I nod.

“Yeah, but I don’t know how late or early.”

“Okay,” she whispers.