Page 177 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

“Maybe.”

A bit.

“Hmm,” Leonard said. “Your turn.”

“Specialty?”

The man smiled widely, clearly understanding John’s question without further details. “Cocaine, actually. Smuggling, specifically. See, I am a hobby pilot, John. I think you might call that a—”

“Side-hustle. Nice.”

“It served me well over the years. On you, though, how do you feel about this … Siena?”

John barked out a laugh. “Her, or love?”

“It has to be both, doesn’t it?”

Leonard was right, of course.

John knew it.

“It’s hard to grasp the concept that someone loves me the way she loves me,” John said quietly.

“Self-deprecating again.”

John shook his head. “No, I just never thought that was going to happen. I didn’t look for it—this disorder ruins so many things for me when I bring people close because they can’t handle it, or I shove them away.”

“And she …?”

“Kept coming back.”

“And what does that mean for you?”

“My biggest fear with people is that once they know—or see what this is really like for me—it becomes John with bipolar. She just sees me.”

“John.”

“She only sees me.”

Leonard ticked a finger in John’s direction. “Well done, John.”

“My turn?”

“Your turn.”

Siena’s gaze was only on John as she entered the facility after being checked in by one of the nurses. The white dress she wore made him think she looked like some kind of angel gracing his life.

Funny.

She had always been like that for him.

A saving grace.

Right up until the end.

The rules of the facility were clear when it came to patients and visitors. Hugs were okay, but any romantic displays were not appropriate or encouraged. Patients were there to get healthy, not go on a date.

Even knowing it might be a mark against him, or another long chat with Leonard about walking the right lines, John grabbed hold of Siena the second she was close enough for him to do it. He dragged her close, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her hard.