Page 141

He explains the years of field operative work he did for the Agency, using Kensington as his home base, until the world crashed down when all of Tyson’s lies were exposed. How his father admitted to years of lies, of punishing Paige for being the spitting image of her deceased mother, how Tyson went off the rails when Paige became pregnant by Beckett—when he too was a symbol of the people who took his wife from him.
“How did you leave things with him?” I ask, concerned not only for Ethan but also for the whole family.
Ethan, who has long since dropped his head into my lap, shudders. “I said, ‘The problem is, you raised a son who lied for a living, so I know how much lying hurts. It gets so you don’t know what you said to who. It makes it so you don’t know who you are. You say the wrong thing at the wrong time and then live in a world of regret eating away at your soul.’”
I lift my hand to my mouth, fisting it against my lips in an attempt to stifle the sob that wants to escape.
“I walked away from the Agency because I was tired of lying. After I was pulled back in because I owe—owed,” he corrects himself, “Thorn so much, I became that man again.”
“And that was?”
“A liar.” He lifts his head and I’m shocked to find tears falling down his face. “Witch, the only way I deserve to apologize to you is on my knees.”
“Ethan,” I protest.
But his fingers stop absolution from being granted too early. After I hear them, I’m glad they do. “From the first night, we’ve never lied to each other. Even when it might have been easier. Even when it might have hurt less.”
I hesitantly agree, thinking of the women he’s dated, the men I’ve been with. The friendship we maintained that bloomed into something more before it imploded.
He glances over at the picture of himself with his mother. “I want to be the man worthy of holding that woman’s hand and yours. The only way to do that is to stop lying and to promise you the truth.”
“What does that mean?”
His eyes lock onto mine. “It means I no longer call Kensington home. It means I accepted a job working for Sam at Hudson Investigation. I can live in Alaska, North Carolina, the city…or right here in Centerport.” He holds his breath.
Waiting.
I think about the letter from my mother I haven’t had a chance to show him. The opportunity for us to be a regular couple. This is a chance for us to start over.
I don’t realize I’ve shared these things aloud until he lifts himself up until we’re face-to-face, lip-to-lip. “All of that, witch, and more. All that matters to me is that you know I fully intend to pursue you and make you fall in love with me again.”
I shake my head.
His face falls. He swallows hard before he manages, “You just want to be friends?”
This time, it’s me who scoots closer. I thread my fingers in the hair that’s slightly lighter near his temples. Pulling him closer, I brush my lips lightly against his before admitting, “I never fell out of love with you, Ethan. That’s why it hurt so damn much when?—”
He doesn’t give me a chance to finish my sentence. He’s pulled me off the sofa and onto his lap. His lips, at first powerfully devouring, finally begin dropping light kisses around my face as he murmurs, “I love you,” over and over. As if he says it enough it will penetrate.
I don’t plan on stopping him any time soon. Still, I’m not ready for the breakneck free-for-all we lived through before. Pushing my hand against his chest, I ask, “So, what’s your plan?”
At that, he stands before placing me on my feet. “Just you wait and see.”
I study his face solemnly for a long moment, reconciling the man I fell in love with at eighteen, the man who became my friend, my lover, and then a complete stranger. Still, deep down, maybe I always knew there was a piece of him with me. Tentatively, I broach a subject I hope it’s not too soon to mention. “I have two questions.”
“What are they?”
I chew on my lip before working up the nerve to ask, “What’s going to happen to Devil’s Lair? You made it sound like they were into something awful. Then Leanne implied…”
He lays his finger across my lips. “That’s still an ongoing investigation, witch. I can’t share much but what I can is an agent Sam and Leanne trust with their lives is going to help them out.”
“Florence? Becca?” I think of all the others who might be caught in the crossfire and left destitute.
He scrubs his cheek against mine before murmuring against my ear. “Sam’s daughter will be by their side. Rachel is the best at what she does. She won’t let them get hurt”
The pressure inside my chest releases. I can feel his smile against my cheek before he asks, “What’s number two?”
“Whiskey.” Quickly, I share, “Maybe it was your voice. Maybe…I don’t know.”