Page 20 of Magic & Matchmaking (Moonflower Witches)
Chapter Nineteen
RIVEN
I sat in my room at the inn, elbows perched on my knees, hands steepled as I rested my chin on my fingertips.
I shouldn’t have let Emma run away like that.
In the moment, I’d thought it would be good to give her space, and then, I figured when we went out to celebrate later tonight, I’d tell her the truth: that I wanted her to come with me.
And that if she couldn’t come with me, then we’d figure something out.
I’d come back and visit as often as I could.
If that wasn’t going to work, then I’d stay.
I’d do whatever it took to be with her.
These last few weeks had been amazing, and I wasn’t ready for it to end, not when it had just begun. I didn’t know what Emma wanted. She’d seemed upset about the tour letter, but that didn’t mean she wanted a relationship. That didn’t mean she’d leave Thistlegrove to go with me.
She said she just needed to go home and change, but she’d been gone for hours, and I’d been here waiting like an idiot.
I stood. I wasn’t going to wait anymore.
I’d go to her cottage, bang down the door if I had to. I’d tell her everything. Lay it all out there. No more holding back. No more secrets .
I took three long strides across the room, grabbing the handle and wrenching open the door—and stopping.
Emma stood there, fist raised like she was about to knock.
Her hair was swept up in its characteristic messy bun, curls spilling out from it. Her cheeks were pink, chest heaving like she’d been running.
And she was wearing the same thing she’d been wearing earlier: a simple green dress with long sleeves and an apron tied over it.
She pushed past me, walking into my room and pacing.
“Emma? Are you okay?” I asked.
She stopped, whirling to face me, blue eyes swirling with emotion.
“This isn’t just a fling,” she said. “Not to me. And I know you’re Riven Shiu and can probably get any woman you want, and maybe that’s the whole fun of it.
You travel and go from town to town and meet all these women and I was just a part of that experience.
And if that’s the case, then okay. I get it.
We can move on and pretend this never happened. ”
I stared at her in shock, unable to believe she’d ever actually think that.
“But that’s not what I want.” She held my gaze.
I stilled. “Then what do you want?”
“I want to travel,” she said. “I want to see the world. I want to experience different foods and people and customs. I want to see the grand castles in the human lands.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “But mostly? I want you. I want a life with you.”
I nearly collapsed with relief. Those were the words I’d wanted to hear for so long, but I didn’t know what had changed, why all of a sudden she could see this future with me when it had never seemed like an option before.
“What—” I shook my head. “What about your father? The tea shop? Your life here?”
Her face fell. “It’s okay, Riven. Really. If this isn’t what you want, I won’t hold it against you?—”
I reached out, grabbing her arm and reeling her to me. My lips crashed against hers in a deep, crushing kiss that I hoped would silence every one of her doubts.
She pushed back, arching her neck to look at me with a question in her eyes .
“I love you, Emma Thorne,” I said. “I think I’ve loved you since that night in the institute where we almost kissed.”
Her jaw went slack.
“I want everything you just said and more. I want a life with you. And for the record, there are no other women.” I tipped my head to the side. “I mean, there have been other women in the last decade, but?—”
She put a finger to my lips. “I don’t need to hear about that right now.”
“Right.” I summoned my most charming smile. “So you really want to leave Thistlegrove and come with me on tour? It can be dangerous for magical folk outside of the Witchlands.”
“We have Karl.” Her smile lit my soul on fire. “And I really, really do.”
“What if you get sick of me?” I asked.
She gave me a look. “You visited my dormitory every single night for an entire year and ate all my food because you couldn’t cook.”
I cleared my throat. So I supposed I had one more secret to reveal. “Emma, there’s something I have to tell you.”
Her face paled. “What now?”
I winced. “I can cook. I’ve always been able to cook. I’m actually really good at it.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Then why . . .?”
I tightened my hold around her. “Why do you think?”
She laughed in disbelief. “You did all that to get close to me?”
I pressed a kiss to her lips. “Yes,” I said.
“That was the only way you could think of to see me? Why not ask me to study with you? To walk with you to your classes? To?—”
I cut her off with another kiss. “Emma,” I murmured against her lips, “shut up and kiss me.”
“We’re not done talking about this, just so you know. But fine.” She pressed her mouth to mine, winding her arms around my neck and sighing in complete contentment.
We had a lot to talk about in the coming days, but for now, the witch I loved loved me back, and that was enough. It would always be enough.