Page 87 of Never Say Never

“You say the sweetest things,” I murmur. This is the side of Tucker that I never expected. He is a man who is comfortable wearing his heart on his sleeve. Open, vulnerable.

I blink before the tears can start. I’m not going to cry.

“Come on.” Tucker shifts in his seat. “I only have five days, and I want to see as much of Italy as I can.”

I want that too, so I toss my napkin on the table and grab my things. The air is already growing hot, the morning temperature spiking to a record high for this time of year.

When he stands and holds out his hand, I notice the way his T-shirt stretches across his chest and his hard stomach. Tucker Collins rivals any of the stone statues I’ve seen on my trip. He’s a sight to be seen. He smirks like he caught me staring, then he clasps my hand and leads me through the piazza, toward the train station.

“Wait.” I stop, tugging on Tuck’s hand, dragging him toward the monument in the center of the little town. “Let’s take a selfie.”

“In front of that guy? Tucker motions to the stone statue of a man on a horse. “Do we even know who he is?”

“It doesn’t matter who he is. I want a photo to remember my first morning in Italy with you. You can replace that old grad photo of the two of us in your bedroom.”

There are endless photos of Tucker and me, there are albums full of them that our moms have been hoarding for years. But we do have 10 years to make up for.

“I happen to like that photo.” His arms snake around my waist, holding me tight as I hold up my phone. “That dress was fucking hot. The fuchsia pink. The way it hugged your ass. I couldn’t stop staring all night.”

“Your poor date. What was her name again? Rachel? Ronnie?”

“Not Daisy, so who gives a fuck.”

I laugh when he smashes his lips to my cheek as I’m taking the photo. “One more,” I plead. Tucker moves around me and takes my phone from my hand, holding it at arm’s-length.

“I can’t even see the screen,” I giggle.

“Perfect. Now, kiss me.”

Going up on my toes, I meet him halfway. “I love you,” I say before kissing his mouth. He snaps a few pictures before sweeping me into his arms.

“I have loved you all my life.”

“Say it again,” I tell him, burying my face against his chest.

“I have loved you all of my life, Daisy Carter.”

My mouth meets his again as his fingers thread into my hair. I cling to him, eyes closed.Oh, god. Here I go again. Don’t cry, Daisy!Why does he do this to me? No other man has ever stood a chance with my heart. It has belonged to Tucker since the day I was born.

Tucker breaks the kiss, a blinding smile stretched across his face.

“You are it for me, Dais. You know that, right? We’re together for good when you get back home. I’m not leaving you at the airport ever again.”

Five perfect days later, Tucker and I roll our suitcases into the arrivals terminal at Reed Point’s airport, exhausted from the 10-hour flight. We weren’t ready to leave Rome—I think we could have stayed in our tiny apartment forever, just the two of us. But Tucker needed to get back to training camp and I decided I didn’t want to be in Italy without him. Luckily, there was a seat on his flight.

We walk through the terminal hand in hand and as we exit the baggage claim area, a chorus of familiar voices makes me stop in my tracks.

“Daisy! Tucker!” My eyes go wide when I see all four of our parents standing just inside the entrance. Tucker looks just as surprised as me.

“What are they all doing here?” I mumble under my breath.

“Do they ever do anything without each other?” is Tucker’s smart-ass response.

“Welcome home!” My mom bellows as she descends on me first then pulls Tucker into her arms.

“Mom, what are you doing here?”

“Saving you an Uber ride. We couldn’t wait to see you.”

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