Page 165

“Cody, what’s…” Her words are muffled against my suit. “What’s wrong?”
“Like maybe it would be better for him if Iwasgone.”
My heart is pounding a crazed rhythm, moving fast enough to drill through my ribs.
I squeeze my eyes shut, drowning in the memory of her darkest confession. The one she doesn’t know I overheard. The one that made me leave her behind for ten years, thinking it was better for her to be without me.
“He doesn’t know. I couldn’t tell him. How could I when that world he’s entering is the one that makes me want to die?”
“I’m sorry, Ris.” I caress her, running my fingers down her back as I lean my forehead against hers.
Emotions tangle in my veins, pounding through me like raging tyrants.
“That’s why I felt relieved when he didn’t show up to the wedding. It’s bittersweet. I love him, but it hurts to be with him. It hurts so much.”
“I’m so sorry.” I rub my nose slowly along her jaw, burrowing against her skin as if it’s possible to fuse our bodies together. “If I could turn back time, I would have run away with you. Everything else is meaningless.”
“Cody.”
“I regret that decision,” I growl. “I should have—”
“Stop. Just… stop apologizing.”
I watch her silently.
“This world,” she gestures to the inside, “is brutal. I’d much rather be with people who wear their pain and brokenness out loud than with people who act like they have it all together when they don’t.”
I nod.
“I wanted to go home.” She inhales a deep breath. “Then I saw you and… and it felt like I already was.”
“Ris—”
“Don’t say anything.” She dips her head. “I drank too much wine and I’ll lose my courage if I’m sober.”
My lips curl up.
She trembles in my arms before framing my face with her soft hands. Her eyes, ringed in shadows and moonlight, slide down to my lips. Hesitantly, she leans forward.
I don’t rush.
I don’t push.
I let her come to me.
The narrow gap between us closes.
When our mouths finally collide, I feel an energy blast rip out of our bodies and tornado through the balcony. It’s a wonder the lampposts don’t flicker. It’s a wonder we don’t shatter the foundations of the hotel.
I cradle her in my arms like the priceless diamond she is. Softly, my lips explore hers, finding all the places I once knew. Reacquainting myself with them again.
She sighs into me and opens her mouth. My tongue flicks against her bottom lip before slipping inside and tasting every airy breath she releases.
It’s a softI missed youkiss that’s only made more intense by the dazzling stars overhead and the striking moonlight. And we’re a part of the night. Something magical and mystical that can’t be explained with mere words.
She pulls her head back and I squeeze her tighter, my breath deepening.
“Was that… different than you remember?” Her lips coil up in a smile.