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“Sally—”

“Wyatt, really, it’s okay?—”

But she can’t finish that thought because I’m grabbing her, one hand on her hip, the other sliding onto her face. Guiding her chin up, I lean down and angle my mouth so her top lip rests in the divot between my own. She closes her eyes.

I lick into her mouth, tasting my—her—toothpaste. We’ve used the same kind forever. But now we’re using the same tube.

Weird I find that romantic?

I finally break the kiss, desperate for air, and rest my forehead on hers.

“So you don’t hate the books then,” she says thickly. Joyfully.

I scoff, my breath rustling the dark brown hair that falls into her face. “I fuckin’ love ’em, Sally. Almost as much as I love you.”

Her eyelashes flutter against my cheeks as her eyes fly open. I meet her gaze. This close, I can see the flecks of auburn in her irises that make them look like they’re on fire.

My heart thunders, but somehow I’m able to keep myvoice even when I say, “Don’t act so surprised, Sunshine. I’m in love with you. Been in love with you for a long, long time.”

She opens her mouth. Closes it. Opens it again. “Really?”

The genuine surprise in her voice makes my chest cramp.

“Really. I realized it that day at the river right after my parents died, but I think I’d fallen for you way before then.”

“My God.” Her eyes well with tears. “Your tattoo…oh myGod,Wyatt. Why didn’t you tell me?”

I lift a shoulder, like I haven’t been agonizing over that question for years. Decades. “You had so much to do. So many things to accomplish. You’ve always aimed so high, and I wasn’t gonna stand in your way.”

She fists her hand in my shirt. “Don’t make me quote the corniest-slash-best love song ever written.”

“What’s that?”

Sally searches my eyes with an urgency that makes my pulse hiccup. “Ever consider you could never ever hold me back, even if you tried? You’re not a roadblock, Wyatt. You’re the wind beneath my fucking wings.”

I erupt in a roar of loud, relieved laughter. “That’s a great song.”

“It’s the best song. But I want you to know—I need you to understand”—she gives my shirt an angry pull—“I was in love with you too. Have been since…forever really.”

My eyes burn. My body trembles, my gut a swirl of anger, sadness, relief. “We messed that one up, didn’t we?”

She shakes her head, squeezing her eyes shut as her tears overflow. “You give me confidence. You make me laugh. You listen. You’re always there for me, Wyatt.” She opens her eyes. “All while you’ve been dealing with some heavy shit.”

I swallow. “I thought you’d just leave again.”

“What if I’m done leaving?”

My stomach plummets. We’re finally talking about this.

Finally.

“I can’t ask you to stay.”

“I don’t need you to.”

“Sally.” Frustration grips me by the throat. “You have to go to New York. You made so many promises to yourself. I won’t let you break them. And I promised your daddy?—”

“That you wouldn’t keep me here.” Sally scoffs. “Of course my dad made that insanely inappropriate ask of you. I’m sorry.”