Page 46 of Unhallowed Murder
“He let RaeLynn stay,” Josef pointed out. “Things are better. Speaking of which, did you notice Mandy and Jamison?”
She looked at him in the mirror. “Yeah, but I thought it was just because of the Luke Cage and Jessica Jones thing.” Her eyes got big, then showed dismay, but then hope. She wasn’t thrilled that two parts of her life she’d so carefully sectioned off might be mixing, but was also happy for her friends. “You think it’s more?”
“Possibly. We should get back out there, but first,” he pulled her to him, kissed her nose, “I’d like to point out that in one year, we’ve completely merged our homes, our friends, our things, our bodies, ourlives. You are my other half. My partner. My lover. My everything,Bellula. These are nowourfriends — not my friends and your friends.”
* * * *
Ronnie turned and let him hold her. She needed his arms around her before she said what she’d wanted to tell him for months, but hadn’t been able to.
“You healed me. Or maybe you gave me a safe space to finally allow the healing to happen, but however you want to phrase it, I was still broken when I met you, andwithin a week, I wasn’t broken anymore. You’re my everything too, you know.” She leaned into him, soaking in his strength. “I know you keep telling me not to worry about the difference in our lifespans, but I worry about you. I’m going to grow old and die, eventually. IknowI live a lot longer than humans, but I won’t live centuries, much less millennia.”
“We have options, my impatient little tiger, but I can’t speak of them with you for another eleven years. Please trust me. Have I let you down yet?”
She took a breath. “No, but you also never told me there were options before.”
He gave her a roguish smile. “We’ve hit the one-year mark, and I don’t believe Abbott will enforce consequences for sharing such a teeny little piece of a secret. He likes you. He won’t want you to be worried.”
Ronnie smiled and let him lead her back upstairs, her final concern assuaged. She’d been worried that herhappily ever afterwould one day be a heartbreak for him, but if there was a way around the fact she’d die and leave him alone, then everything was, indeed, right with her world.