Page 130 of Igniting Sparks

Her back is to me, one hand trailing lightly along the wooden barre. Hair twisted into a low bun. Posture unmistakable.

“Mina?” My voice sticks in my throat as I stare at her form. “What are you doing here?”

She doesn’t turn around. Instead, she motions around the room and asks, “Why didn’t you tell me about this place?”

“What are you doing here?” I repeat.

“Answer my question first because I’m really angry at you, Braden.” She turns around and I see the tears brimming in her blue eyes, the emotion rampant in her face.

But she isn’t angry. She’s overwhelmed, which is the same feeling I’m experiencing.

But then her gaze shifts. Lands on Sarah, standing just behind me.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were with someone.” She wipes her eyes and crosses the room, a tremulous smile on her lips as she extends her hand to Sarah. “I’m Mina.”

“Ah yes, the woman he created this studio for. It’s a pleasure.” She shakes Mina’s hand before looking at me. “I get it now. This”—she gestures around the room—“is art. I’ll see you in class next week, right?”

“Yes, thank you.” I don’t elaborate, nor do I ask her to stay. She understands what’s happening, and judging by the light in her eyes, she’s fine with it.

Like Sarah said, it’s art. Whether it has a happy ending is yet to be determined.

The door swings shut behind her, and I turn to face the woman I love.

Mina shifts her weight, uncertainty evident in her posture. “Did I mess things up for you?”

“It’s fine,” I reply, dragging a hand through my hair, completely knocked off-kilter by her sudden appearance. “Are you going to tell me what you’re doing here?”

“Not until you tell me why you built this place.”

Is she serious? “You know why. I did it for you.”

Mina throws up her hands and fixes me with an intense stare. “Did you ever plan totellme about it?”

I shove my hands in my pockets and rock back on my heels. “Yes, but then Leo showed up with that amazing job offer, so I kept quiet. Didn’t want you to feel obligated to stay here.”

She plants her hands on her hips, growing more aggravated by the minute. “So, you let me go instead.”

“You needed to go.”

“What I need is a hug, but you seem determined not to give me that.”

I’m desperate to fold her into my arms, but I know one thing for certain, I can’t watch her walk away again. “Mina… what are you doing here?”

She paces the length of the studio, hands flying in wild, animated gestures. “What do youthinkI’m doing here, you idiot? I’m in love with you. I tried Los Angeles and the big, glamorous job. The celebrities and parties and bullshit. It’s nothing. Without you,I’mnothing. I don’t want Los Angeles. I want us—and I want everything. The home, the marriage, the kids. But only if I can have it with you.”

That’s it. I need to have my head examined because there is no way I heard Mina correctly.

She shoots me another exasperated look, but I see the fear brimming just below her confident façade. “Will you please say something?”

But I don’t say a damn thing. Instead, I close the smalldistance between us, wind my fingers in her hair, and claim her mouth in a possessive kiss.

She melts against me, her fingers twisting in my shirt as I show her—without words—everythingI feel for her.

All the hunger. All the desperation. All the moments I believed would never come again.

I kiss her like I’ve never kissed anyone before.

Like I’ve been holding my breath for weeks, and she’s my oxygen.