Page 66 of Take What Hurts

At some point, in the future.

As long as she checked off all the things on their lists.

But it all paled in comparison to that one inevitable thing. That single-track thought that led her out of the city toward Heston.

Mackenzie, having found the generic Apple Music playlist grating, had turned the volume down to nothing, and the miles passed in an increasingly suffocating silence. With nothing to distract her and with Seattle growing smaller in the rearview mirror, a kernel of unease began to grow. And grow. Until it morphed into a feeling of true discomfort that lodged like a stone in her chest.

So she sucked in a deep breath and thought about Elliott—the way her pink lips pulled into a sweet half smile when she looked at Mackenzie, the husky sound of her laugh as they lay in bed together after they’d taken each other apart, the softness in Elliott’s eyes when Mackenzie caught her looking at her in a quiet moment. The heaviness eased, and she smiled to herself and pushed the accelerator closer to the floor.

Mackenzie pulled into the driveway behind Elliott’s Subaru, heart pounding in her mouth. She took a breath, eyes on the freshly painted front door—sage green, which Mackenzie loved and thought was a cute choice that Elliott had definitely not made—and wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans.

As she climbed out of the car, Elliott appeared on the porch. Mackenzie straightened herself and pushed the door closed behind her with a thud. And for a moment she stood there on the driveway, in front of the little house that Elliott had loved for her whole life, and then, finally, she relaxed. The knot in her chest dissipated as she watched Elliott’s face flit between elation and concern, brows furrowed, but with her mouth quirked in a smile.

Elliott took a step toward her off the porch. “Hey.” Her smile grew wider, head tilted in question. And Mackenzie could only watch as the tall, gorgeous woman crossed the carefully mowed lawn—her tall, gorgeous woman. Mackenzie took a step away from the car toward Elliott, and the feeling in her body—the one that had been growing and building and making every attempt to escape for months—swelled in her chest until it threatened to burst out of her in a rush. Her mouth pulled into a broad smile as Elliott came to a stop in front of her.

“Hi,” she breathed, and her eyes fluttered closed as Elliott brought her fingers to a stray strand of hair that had escaped from Mackenzie’s hasty ponytail, and tucked it gently behind her ear. It was so tender. Her favorite thing Elliott did. She wanted it for as long as Elliott would give it to her.

“What are you doing here?” Elliott’s voice was gentle. So warm and honeyed as she brought the palm of her hand to Mackenzie’s jaw, thumb stroking over the soft skin of her cheek. “I wasn’t expecting you until next week.”

“I couldn’t wait.” It was barely a breath, and Mackenzie studied the way Elliott’s eyes crinkled at the edges with her smile. The way her front teeth, barely perceptibly overlapping, glowed behind the plush lips that thinned with the way her smile crept into her round cheeks. She brought her own hand up to cover Elliott’s, bringing her eyes to Elliott’s sweet brown ones. “I just—” She huffed a laugh around the burning that had started in her throat. “I just couldn’t wait.”

The crease in Elliott’s brow appeared with the downturn of her lips, and her other hand came up to cup Mackenzie’s other cheek. “Mackenzie, is everything—” Her frown deepened as she peered down at Mackenzie. “Are you okay?”

Mackenzie could only nod through a watery smile. The tears that had been welling spilled onto her cheeks, and she choked out a laugh. Because it was like every bone in her body knew, down to her very marrow. This was it. Elliott was it. She reveled in the glow of complete acceptance. Total support. Of being known and cherished and beloved despite every flaw.

Total, unrivaled, addictive acceptance.

So foreign, but so unequivocally right. And entirely all encompassing.

“Everything is—” Mackenzie laughed again, wiping a tear out of her eye. “Elliott, everything is perfect. You are perfect. Wonderful.” She wiped another tear away, focused on the sensation of Elliott’s thumbs rhythmically stroking her face in the late-afternoon chill that had descended with the lowering of the sun. “Honey, I think you might be everything.” Elliott looked at her so softly, and with so much tenderness that Mackenzie shivered.

Elliott’s grip tightened minutely on her jaw. “Are you cold? Let’s go insi⁠—”

Mackenzie shook her head, smile softening. “No, I’m not cold, Elliott.”

“But—”

“Elliott, I’m in love with you.” She watched the way Elliott’s eyes widened. Heard the swift intake of breath. Mackenzie’s heart swelled. “You are more than—” She paused, shaking her head once, hand dropping to Elliott’s chest, fingers playing with the collar on Elliott’s flannel. “More than I ever hoped for or—” She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “Or dreamed of.” Palm flat on Elliott’s chest, Mackenzie could feel Elliott’s heart hammering, and Mackenzie stroked her fingers over the spot where she would lay her head when they cuddled in bed. Where Mackenzie hoped she would lay her head for the rest of her life.

“I was—god.” She laughed. “So miserable for so long, going about everything the wrong way, and I didn’t even realize until you were just there. Through everything. Supporting me, helping me to—” She fished for the words, fingers tracing the lines in the plaid over Elliott’s breast. “To go after what I want. To stand up for myself. Challenging me with such…” She trailed off, running her hand down Elliott’s arm to intertwine their warm fingers together. “Respect. For me. I thought I’d never find you, but here you are. Like a fucking beautiful revelation, and I—” She sucked in a shuddering breath. “I love you, and I want to be with you. Properly. Not in Seattle. Not anywhere else. I want to be here. With you.” She dropped her eyes to her hand on Elliott’s flannel, feeling the heat climb into her cheeks.

Elliott’s eyes were like saucers, the glint of hope palpable. “But the partnershi⁠—”

Mackenzie shook her head hard. “I don’t care.” She laughed, the final knot loosening inside her as it crystallized—truly, she didn’t care. “I don’t care about it. It’s—it’s just a title. It was important when I didn’t have anything else.” She swallowed hard. “I can see my life laid out in front of me now, and it doesn’t look like late nights at the office. It looks like—like—” She gasped a breath and took a moment to appreciate Elliott’s rosy cheeks and her eyes that were wide with wonder. “Like slow mornings, and coffee, and days on the mountain, and coming home to you when it’s still light outside, and playing with our hypothetical kids in our yard, and—” She laughed again. “I don’t want to waste any more time. I’ve done enough of that. I want to be with you here. If you’ll have me.”

Mackenzie brought her hands back to Elliott’s face and gently wiped away the tears that had leaked down her cheeks. She glowed at the way her words landed with Elliott, the way her eyes shone with warm fire in the late-afternoon light. The way her right cheek dimpled just slightly. Just enough. The way the lines around her mouth deepened as her lips pulled further and further apart, smile growing like a sunburst in the morning sky as she surged forward, pulling Mackenzie against her body, and kissed her like she was made to fucking do it.

Then Elliott pulled back only far enough to lock eyes with Mackenzie, hands still at her jaw, fingers lightly stroking the skin on her neck behind her ears, making Mackenzie hum. Elliott shook her head slightly. Slowly. Wonderment in every line in her face, and eyes glistening. “I love you too. I think I have since the moment you kissed me on that damn chairlift.” Elliott choked out a watery laugh, eyes so familiar in their softness as they cataloged Mackenzie’s face. “I want everything with you. Everything you’ll let me have. And whatever I have to give, it’s yours. If that’s okay with you?”

Mackenzie nodded, hands winding tightly into Elliott’s loose curls as she pressed her forehead against Elliott’s, eyes closing against the soft touch. “Yes, please.” Eyes flicking to the front door, she smiled against Elliott’s mouth. “I love the color you’ve painted the front door. Hannah chose well.”

Elliott huffed out a laugh, her soft breath washing warm over Mackenzie’s lips. “Hannah didn’t pick that one.”

Mackenzie pulled back enough to catch Elliott’s eyes and frowned. “I thought she took you back to the hardware store and turned into a dictator about the paint colors.”

Elliott let out the loud, full-bodied laugh that was rich and warm and that wrapped around Mackenzie like her favorite blanket. “She did, but I negotiated, and she let me pick one color—for the front door only,” she said seriously.

Mackenzie’s heart thudded solidly against her ribs, her chest cavity filling with warmth. “And why did you pick that one?”