Taryn
I woke up with the ghost of Selene’s words lingering like mist in my chest.
Choose with your heart.
The ache in me wasn’t sharp anymore—it was full. Warm. Weighted with something real and alive. And when I reached for my phone, it wasn’t with doubt. It was with need.
I dialed Gavin before I could second-guess myself.
He picked up on the second ring, and the moment I heard his voice—low, sleepy, unmistakably his—I melted.
“Hey, pretty girl,” he murmured. “You need me?”
“God, yes,” I whispered, pressing the phone to my cheek like I could pull him closer. “It’s only been a week, but I swear it feels like a year.”
He laughed, and it wrapped around me like a hug. “Eleven more weeks. Then I’m home. Then it’s us.”
I closed my eyes, letting myself sink into the sound of him. “Tell m
