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“Yes?”
She turns to me. Steps closer. Her hands find mine, gripping tightly, as she rises onto her tiptoes and kisses me. “You didn’t have to do this,” she murmurs against my lips.
“I don’t think you understand,” I say, pausing to kiss her again, “the things I’m willing to do to make you happy.”
Her face is glowing when she pulls away. Then she runs a hand over my hair—I tied it up in a bun so I wouldn’t get paint in it.
“You did this to make me happy?”
I nod. “You said you hate it here. That’s not how you should feel in your own home. I couldn’t just stand by and let you feel that way.”
She melts into me, cupping my cheek and kissing me again. “Thank you. Thank you so much. Blaze, I—”
I watch her silently, giving her time to collect her thoughts.
“I’ve known it for years. Maybe I was just too scared to fully admit it. And I know we’re not perfect right now. I know we’re still trying to rebuild our trust in each other. But I—I have to say this. I have to make sure you know. Especially after last night.”
I raise an eyebrow, a mixture of hope and dread rising in my throat. If she’s about to say what I think she is, then everything is about to change for the better. But what if she says something completely different?
I’m so lost in my thoughts, they almost drown out Brooke’s words.
“I love you, Blaze. You mean everything to me. You are my everything. I never want to take you for granted again. And I want to love you forever.” The last sentence comes out as a wide-eyed, vulnerable whisper.
I clasp her hands in mine, holding her gaze. “I love you too, Daisy. I have for so long that I don’t think I know how to not love you.”
Tears fill her eyes, and she lets out a half-sob, half-laugh. I brush the tears away as they fall onto her cheeks. Then I press my lips to hers, sealing everything we’ve said in an unspoken promise:
I don’t care how hard I have to fight for you. I’ll never fucking stop.
Brooke deepens the kiss, moaning into my mouth. I’d press her against the wall if it wasn’t wet with paint. Instead, I hold her close to me, one hand around her waist, the other holding the back of her head.
“I’ll never get enough of kissing you,” I say when she pulls away.
My Daisy’s cheeks are flushed, and her pupils are dilated. She smiles. “You’d better not.”
I release her, and she lets out a soft sigh. The joy on her face fills me with an indescribable type of satisfaction. I made her happy. I did that.
Before I think too much about it, I pull her into my arms and kiss her again. My Daisy. I’d like to make you happy every day.
I was a fool for thinking that I could get any type of real satisfaction out of hurting her. Because being the reason behind her smiles? It’s a thousand times better.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
BROOKE
TOO FAST.
I know that’s what Liling and Imani would tell me if they knew what’s going through my head right now. But I don’t particularly care.
Blaze actually painted my living room for me. He must’ve seen the sad look on my face when I was looking in there earlier. Every time I even glance in there, it brings me back to how upset I was when I came home to find that David had redone my entire house.
Whatever I felt then, this is the opposite of it. It’s a mixture of relief, love, and joy bubbling over like a newly-opened bottle of champagne. It makes me want to laugh and jump up and down and kiss Blaze until he forgets his own name.
Which, in a way, is exactly what I’m planning.
Once he finished painting the wall in the dark teal I fell in love with years ago, he cleaned up and hopped into the shower. That’s where he is now, while I stand in the master bedroom, hoping I’m not about to make a mistake.
Only one way to find out.
