Page 13 of Let it Sizzle (Playing with Fire #3)

Levi

I should have known she’d find me.

I sit at the edge of the lake, the same spot we used to sneak off to when we were kids, the same place where the world felt small enough that maybe, just maybe, we could outrun all the bad shit waiting at home.

My boots dig into the dirt, my forearms resting on my knees, and I stare out over the black water like it might have answers for me.

But the only thing I feel is hollow. Raw.

Like I already lost something I never even had the right to claim.

The crunch of footsteps behind me makes my shoulders go rigid. For a second, I brace for Byron, coming to throw another punch just to finish what he started. But then I hear it—her breathing. That soft, quick rhythm that's so familiar it cuts right through every defense I have left.

I turn, and there she is.

Serena.

Standing a few feet away, clutching something tight against her chest, her eyes wide and shiny like she’s terrified and brave at the same time.

She’s wearing jeans and a sweatshirt two sizes too big, her hair twisted up like she got in her car the second she decided she couldn't stay away. And God, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

"You shouldn’t be here," I say hoarsely, even though the second I see her, every broken piece inside me locks back into place like it never even cracked.

She steps closer, her voice trembling but sure. "I went to your house. Then the firehouse. Nobody knew where you were."

I stare at her, heart hammering against my ribs, like her words are a lifeline I didn’t even realize I needed.

"So how’d you find me?" I ask, voice low.

She hugs the thing in her arms tighter, her mouth trembling just a little. "There’s only one place you'd go if you needed to breathe."

I rise to my feet and close the distance between us, my hands aching to touch her, to tether her to me before she disappears again. She lifts her arms slowly, offering me what she’s been carrying like it’s something sacred.

"I made this," she says softly, her voice frayed and raw. "For you."

I take it from her carefully, our fingers brushing, a shiver shooting down my spine at the contact.

It's a hardcover book, small and simple, but when I turn it over and catch sight of the cover, it nearly knocks me to my knees. A hand-drawn illustration of a bear, massive and proud, standing guard over a tiny girl in a red hoodie. His body is angled protectively, his paws braced in front of her like a living shield against the world. Above them, the title is etched in Serena’s beautiful, careful handwriting: The Bear Who Stayed.

I flip it open, hands almost clumsy, my heart hammering so loud I can barely hear anything else.

Page after page is filled with her soft, detailed drawings—thick woods, empty trails, stormy skies.

A girl who looks too small for her world, too fragile.

And the bear who always finds her, always carries her to safety.

The way she’s captured every goddamn emotion—the fear, the loneliness, the fierce, bone-deep relief of being found—guts me completely. There’s a tenderness to the way the bear touches the girl, in the curve of his massive body around her, in the way he shelters her with his strength.

It’s not just a story. It’s our story. Every terrible, beautiful piece of it.

And when I reach the first page, there, tucked into the bottom corner in that same delicate script, is the dedication:

For the one who found me when I couldn't find myself.

And never let go.

My chest caves in on itself. I blink down at the words, trying to hold myself together, but it's no use.

I lift my head to find her standing there, watching me with those wide, trembling eyes. Like she thinks I might reject it. Like she thinks I might reject her.

I’m across the space between us before I even know I’m moving. I cup her face in my hands, brushing her hair back, needing her to see exactly what she’s done to me, exactly what she means.

"You were the first person who ever stayed, Levi. I had to tell our story.”

I look down at her, and all the years of holding back, of pretending I didn’t want her because I didn’t have a choice.

"You didn’t just tell it," I say, pressing my forehead to hers. "You gave it a goddamn heartbeat."

She nods.

"I knew the second I carried you out of that house that you were mine. I just didn’t know if I was ever gonna be good enough to deserve you. After the most important man in your life had hurt you."

A tear slips down her cheek, and I swipe it away with my thumb, curling my hand around her jaw like she’s the most precious thing I’ve ever touched.

"You’re everything to me, Levi. I’m sorry; I should’ve stood up to Byron."

I shake my head.

I can't hold back anymore. I drop the book, pull her into my arms, and kiss her with everything I’ve been holding back for years. She melts against me, soft and sweet and trembling, but there’s strength there too. A strength I want to spend the rest of my life protecting, building, worshiping.

"I’m never walking away again," I whisper against her mouth. "Never. I don't care what Byron thinks. I don’t care what anyone thinks. You’re mine."

"You don’t have to be alone anymore," she whispers back, tears streaming down her face. "I’m here. I’ve always been here. Byron understands."

I lift her off her feet, carrying her the few steps to the old bench by the water’s edge, setting her in my lap.

She curls into me, her body fitting against mine like she was made for it, and I press kisses into her hair, into her temple, into the soft slope of her jaw.

"I love you, Serena Summers," I murmur against her skin. "I have loved you every damn day since the night you climbed into my arms and trusted me to keep you safe. And I swear to you, as long as I’m breathing, I always will."

She lifts her head, her eyes shining so brightly they could put the stars to shame. "And I love you," she says, her voice breaking open. "You’re my safe place, Levi. You always have been."

I bury my face in her neck, holding her tighter than I ever have before.

The sun dips lower behind the trees, casting a golden light over the water, and for the first time in my whole damn life, I know exactly where I belong.

Right here.

With her.

Always.