Page 27 of Zylus

He shakes his head, a rueful little smile playing at the edges of his mouth. “You don’t have to say anything. I meant what I said, Misty. I just want you to be happy. Even if…” He swallows hard, something raw and painful flickering in his eyes. “Even if it means letting you go.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’ll sell you the inn,” he repeats, “and perhaps you don’t want it, but I’ve made you a present.”

We’ve been working brutal fourteen-hour days. Where did he find the time to do anything extra?

He strides to his closet and pulls out a mailbox.

“It’s an exact replica of the gazebo.” His tone is defeated, as if he believes the work of art in his hands is a pitiful peace offering.

This isn’t something he threw together in an hour. When he says it’s an exact replica, he’s not kidding. Every turned banister, every scalloped shingle, and every plank of wood are there, just tiny-fied. It’s perfect and stunning and he made it for me. He knew how important the gazebo was to me.

“You made this for me,” I say hollowly. My chest squeezes so tightly I don’t know how I’m stillbreathing.

“In my spare time.”

“We’ve been working practically around the clock. You didn’t have any spare time.”

“Imadethe time, Misty. When I wanted to tell you about my day or ask you how you were holding up under this ridiculous mountain of work we bit off for ourselves, I crafted this. When I wanted to talk to you, to put my arms around you, to comb my fingers through your hair, I threw myself into making this for you.”

His voice is raw with emotion. This isn’t the male I’ve thought was callously using me. This is a male who’s been pining for me in the same ways I’ve been yearning for him.

And he offered to let me buy him out. Despite how much this place means to him.

It strikes me that when he told me in wistful tones about his time as a child reading in his grandparents’ gazebo, he was talking aboutthisgazebo. The one in the backyard. The one he just agreed to part with in order to make me happy.

Tears blur my vision and I blink them back furiously, determined to get through this without completely falling apart. “It’s beautiful, Zylus. The most thoughtful gift anyone’s ever given me.”

His answering smile is so tender, so full of quiet affection, that it takes my breath away. “Yeah, well. You deserve beautiful things, Misty. You deserve… everything.”

And that’s the moment it hits me with all the subtlety of a plasma blast to the chest. He loves me. Truly, deeply, selflessly loves me. Enough to sacrifice his own happiness, his own lifelong dreams, just to ensure mine.

It’s a revelation that rocks me to my core and leaves me reeling. Because how could I not have seen it before? How could I have been so blind, so stubborn, so damn terrified of the truth that’s been staring me in the face all along?

I’ve been so busy guarding my heart, so determined not to let myself get hurt again, that I failed to see the one thing that mattered most. The one person who’s been here, fighting for me, for our shared dream, from day one.

“Thanks for the offer to let me buy you out,” I say softly, reaching out to cup his face in my hands. “But no thanks.”

His brow furrows in confusion, even as he leans into my touch, as though he can’t help himself. “But I thought… I mean, you said…”

“I know what I said. And I was wrong.” I take a deep breath, letting the last of my walls come crumbling down. “I don’t want the inn if it means losing you, Zylus. I don’t want any of it without you by my side. I was foolish and cold and hard-headed and I’ve stolen months of your peace of mind… and mine.”

“Misty,” he breathes, his eyes shining with a tentative, desperate sort of hope. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying…” Another shaky inhale, my heart pounding against my ribcage like it’s trying to break free. “I’m saying I love you, you thoughtful, wonderful man. I’m head over heels, crazy in love with you, and I—”

But I don’t get to finish my grand declaration, because suddenly his mouth is on mine, swallowing down my words and replacing them with the hot slide of his tongue, the intoxicating taste of his joy and relief and bone-deep adoration.

I cling to him, pouring every ounce of my love, my gratitude, my soul into the kiss. And for the first time in longer than I can remember, I feel truly, completely at peace.

Because I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. In the arms of the man I love, in the home we built together, ready to face whatever the future holds.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Zylus

I’ve envisioned this a thousand times over the last three months, but it’s never been like this. Like fire and ice. Like a tsunami, a wall of water so high and powerful it threatens to consume me.

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