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I’m pulled from my thoughts by a pouncing weight around my feet, and I register black hair before meowing.

“Jesus.” Knox looks from the open window to the black cat now bumping her head into my leg and I make no attempt to stifle my laugh.

“I told you, she’s your cat.” I quickly bat away the liquid around my eye and set my coffee on the nightstand.

“She’s not my cat!” He drags one of those large palms over his face as his head falls back to the headboard.

“Well, not yet.” She crawls up my leg, cautiously and Irub the soft spot between her fluffy ears. “You have to name her first.”

“I’m not naming something that’s not mine.”

“How about Salem?”

“How about no.”

“Yeah, you're right, too basic. And you’re not basic, are you sweet baby?” She smashes her head into my hand, demanding I keep petting her.

“What about Rose Dewitt Bukater?”

“Nova—” His warning growl doesn’t deter me.

“Penny? Neville Furbottom? Mi Hamburguesa?”

“What?”

“It means my hamburger.”

“I’m aware of what it means, Nova. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“What?” I notice the slight hitch in his breath.

“My first night here. My last name.” A quiet second passes, and Mi Hamburgusa begins kneading my stomach. She’s definitely not someone’s lost cat, judging by the way her long claws are digging into me. Knox shifts around in the bed, sitting up before he grabs my shoulders in both his hands. His eyes dance back and forth between mine, and he drags one of his rough hands through my hair.

“Taylor, I don’t call you Nova because it’s your last name.” I blink in surprise, but rest my head into his soft touch. “I call you Nova because it’s a name they give to the brightest stars. The ones that appear suddenly out of seemingly nowhere and release the most powerful energy.” The pad of his thumb runs along my bottom lip. “And that’s exactly what you are.” A rapid beating begins in my chest but continues throughout my entire body.

“Knox—”

“I want to ask you something.” I nod my head, too afraid to use my voice. “Have you considered extending your trip?”

There it is.

There’s the question we both seem to have been avoiding but seemingly both thinking about.

“Is that something you would want?”

He sits up a little straighter, cupping my cheeks in both of his hands until we’re eye to eye. “I’d crawl over broken glass in nothing but my underwear if it meant more time with you, love.”

Fuck.I’m so far gone for him that I can’t even see the surface anymore.

My hands tremble, but a slow smile spreads across my face. When he says things like this, I believe down to the most cynical parts of my bones that he means it.

“But it’s not just about me and what I want. Is that something you would want?

The truth is,Idofeel at home here. I haven’t felt the kind of parental love from someone like Isla since I was back in Miami with The Sanches. Even though I actively avoid anything more than surface-level friendships with people, the reality is that Ilikethese people. I imagine saying goodbye to Liv, Sophie, Liam and Dax, hell even Alfie, and for the first time since leaving Camila, I feel a lump in my chest. The idea of leaving Knox physically makes my stomach cramp. Sure, I can be impulsive, but to my core, I struggle with change. When I look into Knox’s gold-flecked, pleading eyes, I’ve never wanted to jump so hard.

I swallow down the fear and blink back the uncertainty. “I could look into it,” I say, and the smile I’m rewarded with is the kind that makes the muscles in my chest lift. Like myheart is physically smiling back at him. His hands wrap around my face, pulling me into a deep kiss. A kiss that feels like something more. I melt into him, fingers digging into his bare chest like a safety net. I could stay here wrapped up in him forever, and it’s that feeling that gives me the confidence to stay.