“No. Not after yesterday. Not after watching you stand up to Vivian and refuse to back down. Not after, after all of it.” He took my hand, laced our fingers together. “I’m done pretending this is temporary. I’m done pretending you’re just a guest. I’m done pretending I don’t want you to stay.”
“Adrian—”
“You don’t have to say anything. You don’t have to decide anything today. I just, I needed you to know. Before, before whatever comes next. I needed you to know that this is real for me. You’re real for me.”
I looked at him, at this complicated, damaged, beautiful man who’d spent the night setting up Christmas because he’d finally decided to try.
“It’s real for me too,” I said quietly. “Scary and impossible and probably a terrible idea, but real.”
He leaned in and kissed me. Soft and s
