Page 147 of The Temptation of Truth

35

AURORA

As soon asmy phone alarm alerts me that it’s 10 p.m., I feel rather than see her.

My heart jumps to my throat, and I spin in circles, scanning the lobby, looking through the crowd of people waiting for our guided tour to begin. It takes all of ten seconds for my eyes to land on her, and she’s already looking at me.

Slowly, she walks toward me, but I don’t trust myself to move. I’ve thought I saw her before. Once in Portugal. Another time in Scotland. Both times my heart filled with hope before it shattered.

This time though, she doesn’t disappear when I blink. She just gets closer and closer, until I swear I can smell the most hauntingly beautiful blend of gardenia, pear, and brown sugar.

She looks just as gorgeous as when I left her in Sydney in her platform combat boots and thick black tights under a distressed denim skirt. The coat she’s wearing is bright pink and puffy, and it matches her black and pink stocking cap. She’s bundled appropriately for viewing the Aurora Borealis on a November night in Iceland, and it makes me even happier.

She knew. She figured it out. She came.

I fold my lips between my teeth to tame my smile and taste tears. When she steps up in front of me, I inhale, filling my lungs with the scent of her. Confirming what I already knew but was too afraid to believe. It’s real. She’s here. She came.

Mabel reaches up, her hand covered in black, fingerless gloves, and wipes tears from my cheek while ignoring the steady stream of her own.

“Hey, Roar.”

I laugh. “You found me,” I say, my voice a trembling whisper.

She shakes her head, and lifts my journal, hugging it to her chest.

“No,” she says. “You found you.”

Then she kisses me, and everything is finally perfect.

Hours later, in my hotel bed, I snuggle into Mabel’s warmth as she runs her fingers through my hair.

“I like it short,” she says, toying with a single streak of purple. “It suits you.”

“Thank you.” I press a kiss to her breast, and she hums. “I like it, too. I can’t wait to hear more about your family. Your mom, dad, and sisters. I’m so happy for you, Mabel.”

“I’d like for you to meet them. If you’re comfortable with that, I mean.”

I smile against her. “I’d love that. As long as you don’t think we’re going too fast.”

“I’ve been missing you for two years, Roar. I’m all in if you’re all in.” I feel her body tense. “Are you all in?”

“I’m more than all in.” I can’t help but giggle as I pull her tighter, lifting my leg up and over her hips so I’m clinging to her like a koala in a tree. “Should we have had this conversation before we fucked?”

When she laughs, the sound vibrates through her chest and tickles my ear. “Maybe. But the next best time is now.”

“I’m all in, Brooklyn Susan Ainsley Mabel Rossi,” I tell her firmly. “I fucking love you. No lies here.”

She shifts and tilts my chin up so our lips meet, and she kisses me so deeply, I could sink into it.

“I fucking love you, Aurora Jade Hammond,” she says into my mouth. “Foundation of truth.”

I grin. “Thank God. This would all be so embarrassing if you didn’t.”

Mabel rolls her eyes playfully, then tucks me back into her side, and we lie together in the quiet for a while. I listen to her heartbeat. My breathing syncs with hers. I want this to be my life forever now. I never, ever want to lose her again.

“Your journal is beautiful.” Her voice breaks the silence, and I can feel her words dancing through my hair. “I read every single page the moment I opened the package, and then I read it again on the jet. And your poetry, fuck, you’re so talented, Roar. You should be published.”

“I’m proud of it,” I say, tracing my fingers along her stomach and marveling at the goose bumps that rise on her skin. The fact that she loves it just makes me love it more. “Actually, I have sort of a surprise.”