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Her chin jerked upward and heat leaped in her eyes. “This isn’t a game.”
“Not a war either,” he said. “Both sides can come out of this stronger. United.”
He felt the tension in her muscles ease. “Noah. I don’t want to fight you any longer,” she whispered. “Not when I love you so much. Not when I need you so much.”
The last of the wall he’d tried to put between them crumbled. With those blue and green eyes on his, he knew, he finally believed there was a place inside her heart for him, too. And if she was strong enough to take the chance on him, he could do no less. “I love you, too,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion and hope. “I need you, too.”
He hauled her closer and kissed her, unsurprised when fire flashed around them. It was only an imitation of the passion he felt for this incredible woman.
“Noah,” she said against his mouth, and that brightness flashed once more, forcing him to look up. It wasn’t only love lighting up their world, he realized, but that damn paparazzo who had been plaguing them for weeks.
“Get lost,” Noah said, returning his gaze to Juliet, to his woman, the one who unbalanced and who steadied him, too, both in equal measure. “Get lost now.”
“Or what?” the man asked, taking another photo.
“Or I’m going to sic the lady on you. She’s tougher than she looks and I imagine she’ll kick your ass.”
Juliet laughed, her whole face alight with happiness. “I’ll bet he’s softer than that rubber tire.”
“Just give me a quote and I’ll go away,” the tabloid guy offered.
“We’re getting married.” Noah lowered his forehead to touch Juliet’s. “Yes?”
Her smile was brilliant. “Yes.”
So brilliant that his heart ached to see it, because he owed her one more thing. Before he really let her make such a commitment to him, he owed this brave, generous woman who thought she loved him his very last, his very own secret.
“Juliet.” He cupped her beloved face in his palms. “Listen for a minute. I’m not sure I deserve you. I—”
“What are you talking about?”
He blew out a breath. “I’m not the man you think. I’m not noble; you should know that. You should know what you’re getting if you take me on.”
Her hands closed around his wrists. “I am taking you on,” she said, her voice fierce. “Do I have to start throwing things to make you believe that?”
“I’m not like the general,” he said, determined to get through his confession. “I’m not that kind of man. What I feel for you…oh, God.” He thought of all he held in his hands and of all he could lose.
“Noah.” Tears brightened the blue and green of her eyes. “What is it?”
“You have to know…I could never sacrifice like he did. I’ll hold you to me with my last ounce of strength.” He swallowed past his tight throat. “The way I love you… I want you beside me today and tomorrow and the next day after that and when…”
“And when?” she prompted.
“And when I take my very last breath.”
Tears spilled over to catch in her eyelashes.
“Is that all right?” he asked, as one of her hot tears rolled over his thumb. “Are you okay with that?”
She nodded as more tears fell. “It’s what I needed to hear to make me the most okay ever. I want a partner, Noah, not a protector.” Then she pressed closer and he gathered her against him. “But in regard to those ‘lasts’ you spoke about…I fully expect sixty blissful years first.”
Epilogue
Real love stories never have endings.
—RICHARD BACH
One week later…
Juliet loved Malibu & Ewe, especially on midweek late afternoons when it quieted down from the morning and lunchtime rush of shoppers. She wandered to the doors that led to the balcony overlooking the ocean. The bright sun glinted off the water, but the air was too cold to spend time outside unless she bundled up. So instead she stayed sheltered inside the shop, and looked northward through the glass toward Zuma where she’d laid Wayne’s ashes to rest.
What a wonderful man he’d been.
How pleased he’d be for her now.
Cassandra wandered from the back. “What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing. Everything.”
The front door banged open with a loud peal of the bells. Their sister burst into the shop, wearing starched chef gear and waving a newspaper. “How did this happen?” she demanded, her agitation disturbing the peaceful atmosphere.
