Page 57 of Never Less

And I think I mean it. All the shit Nate just threw at me didn’t hurt nearly as much as I thought it would. He’s hurt me so much, and I just want to be done with him.

I smile, turning in Marcus’s arms and kissing him softly. Because I am done with Nate, and the future that’s in store for me and Marcus is much brighter than my past with him.

Chapter eighteen

Marcus

I keep Liliana by my side until Nate pulls out of the driveway. Once he’s gone, all the tension floods out of her body, and she leans into me.

When it became apparent that Liliana would be breaking up with Nate, I realized there was no way we could all stay in the same house for the remainder of their trip. From there, the decision was obvious. Liliana will stay with me until we head up to South Carolina to get her stuff together. As for Nathan, he can do whatever the fuck he wants.

Finding out why he begged Liliana to stay was my breaking point with him. Even if I wasn’t basically obsessed with the woman, I’d never tolerate him treating someone like that. How he could ever think it’s justified goes to show how wide the chasm is between us now.

“I’m not only with you because you’re young,” I say.

“I know.”

“And I’m not going to dump you when you turn thirty. Or before that. Or ever, Liliana.”

She squeezes my hand. “I know.”

“And I’ll never get bored of you. Never.”

“Marcus, I know.” Threading her fingers through my hair, she tugs me down for a kiss. “He just said all that because he was mad. I know who you are, and I know you’re nothing like him.”

I relax. “Good. Because what I feel for you? It’s permanent. Etched into my fucking soul, little star. I am never, ever giving up on you.”

Her expression softens, and I let myself get lost in those big brown eyes of hers. “I wouldn’t let you.”

“Good. I’m glad you haven’t forgotten what I told you.”

Side by side, we walk back into the house. Our house. Soon, this place will have traces of Liliana everywhere. It’ll be hers just as much as it’s mine. Then I can build her the screened-in porch and the hot tub—and whatever else she wants afterward.

“The hard part is over, right?” she asks.

“I hope so.” Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, I kiss the top of her head. “Although I have a feeling uprooting your business and moving to a different city will be a pretty difficult process.”

“Yeah,” she muses. “But we’ll get through it.”

I smile. My girl said we. I’ve never heard a sweeter sound.

Chapter nineteen

Liliana

“You ready?” Marcus joins me on the deck of the house we’re renting for the weekend. He’s got an extra blanket draped over his arm, and he’s holding a flashlight, too.

I grin from where I’m already lounging on the air mattress that we set up with pillows and blankets. “Definitely.”

He flips off the deck’s light, bathing us in near-darkness. The flashlight’s beam is strong, and he uses it to make his way over to me before lowering himself onto the mattress. “You’re gonna love this.”

It’s been six months since I moved down to Florida. Life has been a whirlwind since. My consulting business took off the moment I got here, thanks to Marcus’s connections—Char’s and Lori’s, too. It was stressful at first, but Marcus supported me every step of the way, and now that I’ve hired help, my workload is much more manageable.

Marcus promised me that once things settled down, he’d take me out here, and I think he might be more excited than I am. Any time I’ve brought it up, his eyes get this sparkle to them. It’s almost a childlike wonder, and I find it endearing.

Once we’re both settled onto our backs on the mattress, Marcus clicks off the flashlight. His hand finds mine under the blankets. “Give your eyes a minute to adjust.”

“There are already so many of them,” I say, gazing up at the glittering sky. The house is in the middle of nowhere, far away from light pollution, so it’s just us and the big, open sky.

---