Page 112 of Filthy Rich Temptation

He’s standing there like he was that day in the park when I first broke down in front of him. Not asking anything of me. Just there. Solid. Real.

‘I saw the whole thing,’ he says quietly.

‘Good,’ I reply. My voice is steady, but my heart is a riot. ‘Because I want you to see who I am now. Not just who I am when I’m with you, but who I am in here.’

I press my hand to my chest and his eyes don’t leave mine.

‘I do.’

* * *

Theo

I do.

Two words, but they don’t even scratch the surface.

Because what I see standing in front of me isn’t just the woman I love. It’s a force of nature. Sadie Stone – the woman who once broke down on me in a park, who flinched when the world got too loud, who tucked her light into corners just to survive – is standing in the sun now.

Unapologetic. Unshaken. Unstoppable.

And I’ve never loved anyone more in my life.

The crowd fades. The room fades. Everything fades, except her.

‘I wanted to run to you when he showed up,’ I say softly, stepping closer, ‘but you didn’t need me.’

‘No,’ she says just as soft. ‘But I wanted you here.’

That undoes me.

‘I’ve never been prouder,’ I say, and I don’t care that my voice cracks. ‘I’ve seen how you wrote your way out of the dark. How you fought your way back into the light. And now you’re standing in front of the whole damn world and showing them what healing looks like.’ I laugh under my breath, brushing a stray blonde wisp from her cheek. ‘I think I fell in love with you all over again today.’

She blinks rapidly, eyes shimmering with both tears and pride, and wraps her arms around my waist like it’s the only place she wants to be.

‘I didn’t just do this for me,’ she whispers. ‘I did it for all those people like me. I did it for Lottie. And I did it for us.’

Us.

God, I never thought I’d hear that word again. Not with her.

But now it feels like it’s carved into stone. Unbreakable. Like her.

‘I love you, Theo.’

‘I love you too,’ I say, pulling her in and kissing her deep.

It’s not desperate. Not frantic or pained or laced with fear. It’s sure. Solid. Full.

The world keeps spinning, cameras flashing, people chattering… but in this moment, it’s only us.

‘Ew!’

Or not. We both freeze, pulling apart just enough to see a familiar little face scrunched in theatrical horror at knee height.

‘Lottie,’ Sadie breathes, half-laughing, half-mortified.

‘Granny Anna, we need soap. Or a hose.’