Page 51

51

Piper

The night before our wedding, Jake and I lie in bed, breaking tradition by spending our last night as an unmarried couple together. His fingers trace lazy patterns on my bare shoulder as we talk about everything and nothing.

"Nervous about tomorrow?" he asks, pressing a kiss to my temple.

I shake my head. "Strangely, no. I've never been more certain of anything."

He smiles against my skin. "No cold feet? No urge to run?"

"None," I say, then laugh softly as a realization hits me. "You know, I just realized something. I haven't had that dream in months."

Jake shifts to look at me. "What dream?"

"The one I used to have... about you. Well, it wasn't always you. It started with a faceless man, then eventually became you." I feel my cheeks warm. "It was... intense."

His eyes darken with interest. "You never told me about this dream. Was it a good one?"

"Very good," I admit, smirking. "But also terrifying, because it showed me what I was trying so hard to deny—that I was falling for you."

He pulls me closer. "And now?"

"Now I don't need my subconscious to tell me what I want anymore." I touch his face, tracing the jaw I once couldn't see in my dreams. "I'm not running. I'm not hiding. I'm right where I want to be."

Jake's expression softens. "You know what they say about recurring dreams, right? That they're trying to tell you something important, and once you get the message, they stop."

"What was my message, do you think?" I ask, though I already know.

He kisses me softly. "That some things are worth the risk. That love doesn't have to be scary." His lips curve into that smile I've come to cherish. "That reality with me is better than any dream could ever be."

I laugh, shoving his shoulder playfully. "Cocky as ever."

"Am I wrong?" he challenges, rolling me beneath him.

As his lips find mine and his body covers me—warm, real, and wholly mine—I have to admit he's right.

The dreams have stopped because I don't need them anymore. I have everything I once feared to want, everything I never thought I deserved.

And it's infinitely better than any dream.