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She bites down on her smile. “Okay, but we have to reapply another layer. If Parker finds out, she’ll kill me.” Slowly, she peels the film away.
An intricate clock face, half the size of my fist, decorates her skin. I don’t need to compare it to my watch to know it’s exactly the same. “Three thirty-seven, August twenty-third. Today’s date.” I refrain from touching it and instead cradle her face between my hands. “You’ve been busy.”
“Now I can carry you with me wherever we are. Together or apart. I wanted to eternalize how much I love you the same way you did with our song. To show you how permanent we are.” She hides her face between my pecs, dotting light kisses against my skin. “If we only have today, I want to spend it exactly like this.”
It’s futile fighting my shit-eating grin. I’m still struggling to wrap my head around the events that transpired following Vanessa’s phone call, and it’s clear Talia isn’t aware of what’s happened. There was a chance she’d see the news before I could make it back in time to Iris Meadows, but it appears fate was on my side for once.
“Today, or how about forever?”
She peeks up at me, chin propped on my sternum. “Forever, yes. That’s why I got the tattoo.”
“No, Talia. I’m home forever.”
Confusion wrinkles her brow. “I don’t understand.”
I run my thumb along her jaw. “It’s over. I’m free.”
“Free of…”
“Vance Records.” That feels good to say aloud. “From four p.m. Eastern time tomorrow, my contract will dissolve, and the label is gearing up to file for bankruptcy.” Her eyes widen with a million questions. “Turns out, Harriet’s song wasn’t the only one their producers were wrongfully using. They’ve been settling out of court for nearly three years, racking up quite the debt to keep all the copyright lawsuits under wraps. They have no more money.”
“Oh my god.” She shakes her head. “It’s almost too good to be true, but it serves them right. Jesus.” Shock fills her face. “What about your brand deals and the rights to your songs?”
“All facilitated by the label. Any and all affiliation with Vance Records is over. Vanessa is working on ensuring all rights are transferred to me.” I laugh, still in a state of disbelief myself. “They’ll make an official statement tomorrow, and there are some loose ends I need to tie up with Vanessa, but other than that…” My exhale is shaky. “I’m all yours, Tally Girl.”
She blinks up at me with those golden eyes. Then she launches herself upward, smashing our lips together. I meet her excitement and eagerness, hauling her into my arms, her legs wrapping around my waist. We kiss like we don’t have the rest of our lives together.
I set her on the vanity, dragging my mouth down her neck, sucking on the delicate skin and weaving my fingers through her damp tresses. She reaches between us, fingers breaching the waistband of my briefs, and as much as I want that, I pause her hurried movements.
She frowns up at me. I kiss it away.
“What’s the rush?” I tease, though I’m torturing myself from where I’m hard and straining between her thighs.
“We have a lot of time to make up for.” Her voice catches, and she stares at where her hands rest on my torso. “I don’t want to waste any of it.”
“Hey.” I raise her chin. “What’s going on in your head?”
“It all seems too perfect. What if we wake up tomorrow and this was all a dream?”
For so long, Talia has hidden her feelings in fear of upsetting those around her. She’s constantly put others’ needs above hers. The vulnerability and honesty she’s displaying now are a testament to how far she’s come.
“They’d have to drag me back kicking and screaming. Not to mention, Vanessa reassured me it’s a sure deal. This is where I want to be. I want spontaneous date nights, lazy mornings in bed, to deliver you lunch while you’re working, to grow wrinkly and old until all we do is watch TV together in our matching recliners. I left because I wanted to give you the life you deserved, when all along, the one we were building was all you wanted. And it’s what I want.” I peck three kisses on her nose. “I want to spend the rest of my life bringing you home flowers.”
“Tulips?” she croaks.
“Any goddamn flower you want.” I gesture around the bathroom. “I don’t care where we build our story or where we raise our kids, so long as it’s with you.”
I take her blinding smile as acceptance. “I want all of that and more with you. I don’t want our childhood to be the reason you think we need a better life. This one is perfect.”
Our future flashes through my mind like a film reel. Morning kisses. Home-cooked meals. Fighting over the duvet. Feeling our baby kick for the first time. It’s a beautiful montage.
“I don’t ever want you to question your place in my life again. You’re the center of it all, and I will love you tirelessly and timelessly, Talia Brooks.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” This time, I don’t stop her eager hands or hungry kisses. We make love right there on the bathroom floor. No worries, no doubts, no chance of me ever letting her go again.
We wake in the middle of the night to the sound of rain drumming against the windows.
In the two weeks since I’ve returned, Talia and I have done a lot of talking, keeping up with the theme of being open and honest with each other and not avoiding the difficult topics.
