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“He knows,” Rhys said. He rubbed my tear away with his thumb. “Don’t cry for him, princess. He’s all right.”
For some reason, that made me cry harder. It was the first time I’d cried in front of anyone since my dad died, and I would’ve been embarrassed had I not been so heartbroken.
“Shhh.” He wiped away another tear, his brows drawn into a deep frown. “I shouldn’t have told you. It’s not the best way to end a vacation.”
“No. I’m glad you did.” I reached up and covered his hand with mine before he could pull away. “Thank you for sharing it with me. It means a lot.”
It was the most Rhys had opened up to me since we met, and I wasn’t taking it for granted.
“It’s just a story.” But his eyes were stormy with emotion.
“There’s no such thing as just a story. Every story is important. Including yours.” Especially yours.
I released his hand and swam around to his back, where I brushed my fingers over his skin again before pressing the smallest, gentlest of kisses on one of the scars. “Is this okay?” I whispered.
His muscles bunched further, so tense they trembled beneath my touch, but he responded with a tight nod.
I kissed another scar. Then another.
Everything was silent except for Rhys’s ragged breaths and the faint roar of the ocean in the distance.
I’d stopped crying, but my heart still ached for him. For us. For everything we could never be because we lived in the world we lived in.
But right now, the rest of the world didn’t exist, and tomorrow hadn’t come yet.
Last chance.
“Kiss me,” I said softly.
A shudder rolled through him. “Princess…” The nickname came out low and rough. Pained. “We can’t. You’re my client.”
“Not here.” I wrapped my arms around him and placed one hand on his chest, where his heart pumped fast and hard beneath my touch. “Here, I’m just me, and you’re just you. Bucket list number four, Mr. Larsen. Remember?”
“You don’t know what you’re asking me.”
“Yes, I do. I’m not drunk like I was the night after Borgia. I know exactly what I’m doing.” I held my breath. “The question is, do you?”
I couldn’t see his face, but I could practically see the war raging inside him.
He wanted me. I knew he did. But I didn’t know whether that was enough.
The water rippled around us. More fireworks exploded in the distance. And still, Rhys didn’t answer.
Just when I thought he would shut me down and walk away, he let out a low curse, turned, and yanked me to him, and I only had time to draw a quick breath before his hand fisted my hair and his mouth crashed down on mine.