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"I live here."
"I could live here. Or you could move in with me. Home is wherever you are. I don't care."
She shifted, grabbing her shawl and pulling it close. I shucked my suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
"You left. You didn't text or call. And now you want… what? To be with me?"
"Hell yes I want to be with you. I want forever with you. I didn't know what it was when we first met, but I felt it back then. I took that feeling as a sign I needed to capture my destiny. But it's you. I want to keep that feeling forever, and I want to make you happy. I hope I can make you half as happy as you make me."
The ocean licked my legs as I knelt in front of the love of my life. My toes were numb. I reached out a hand, touching her icy cheek. She didn't recoil, and I tucked my hand into her hair.
Please, Lia. I need you.
Lia
He wanted to be with me. He poured his heart out, but he hadn't reached out, and he'd had plenty of opportunity. Why now? Why should I trust this?
He was offering everything I had wanted. I could go to New York and find a job there. With Experience on my resume, I could have my pick. I could work for Raph, or I could work for myself.
But would he leave me again? Could I trust him to live up to who I thought he was?
It was everything I ever wanted, but it was a lot. This was the new Lia, not the scared one.
Raph changed me, too. He made me into someone who could follow her heart. Because of him, I felt comfortable in my own skin, capable, and confident. He was the catalyst to my transformation. Now, I was the only thing standing in my way. But even still…
"You're the man of my dreams."
"So, you forgive me?"
I looked away.
"No?"
"You hurt me. You bulldozed your way into the darkest, scariest parts of my life, and then you let me down. Hard. You got me fired." I smirked.
"I'm so sorry, Lia. If you want your position back, I'll make it happen."
I shook my head, still smiling. "I was asked back, but I turned it down. Derrick was a dickhead, and I don't have to work for someone like him. That was best part of this mess."
"What will it take for you to forgive me? I need you in my life."
I let go.
"I forgive you," I whispered.
I leaned forward and kissed him, pulling him to me. He wrapped his arms around me, and his warmth spread through my frigid limbs. The beach was freezing.
"I missed you, Lia. I missed you so much."
"I love you, Raph."
"I love you, too."
He wrapped me in an embrace that thawed the chill that had settled around my heart. Our lips met again and stretched all the way back to the beginning of our story. With him, I could see forever.
"Let's get out of the cold. Do you want to go back to the party?"
He helped me to my feet, and I dusted the sand from my dress before he scooped me into his arms. I nuzzled into his neck and breathed in expensive aftershave.
