Page 139 of One More Chapter

“It’s for the end of the tour.Just open it.”

“Eager?” she chuckles, lifting one brow.

“Only a lot,” I nod.

She inhales and exhales shortly, then presses down on the handle, stealing all the air in the room when she opens the door. I let her take it all in, let her walk the room slowly, running her fingertips over the custom shelving and the L-shaped desk. She takes in the trinkets—the statue of a squirrel sitting on a stack of books, and the Elvis one sitting right next to it. She runs her hand over the couch that’s fitted beneath all of her posters, and blinks up at the neon sign that lights up her name. There’s a gap in the desk for her computer, but I managed to steal all of the still boxed-up tech, like her printer and cord organizers and the extra monitor.

“I know it looks kind of silly with all of the extra holes, but I figured, if you decide you want this, you can fill them in however you like.”

“You bastard.”

Not exactly the reaction I was expecting, but, okay.

I step to her side, where she’s got her arms folded, her hand swiping over her face.

“Did I get the desk shape wrong? I swore you said ‘L’ but maybe it was supposed to be a ‘W.’”

I chuckle nervously, and she echoes it. That’s when I hear the tears.

“No,” she laughs again, swiping over her eyes. “No, I don’t cry, and you made me cry.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” She shakes her head, doing her best to smile through her tears.

“Do you uh… Want a hug?”

“Yes,” she interrupts, collapsing against my chest in the tightest, sweetest embrace I could’ve never imagined. I cradle her head to my chest, reveling in the suffocating grip she has around my waist. The tears soaking into my dress shirt are happy, grateful, and I welcome them. My own eyes get watery, and I welcome it. We both need this.

Pen leans back in my embrace, the tip of her sniffling nose red, her eyes watery, her smile scrunched with emotion. She has never looked more beautiful.

“You did all of this, even though I might not have wanted to move in?”

I nod, wiping her tears away, tucking her hair behind her ears just to touch her.

“I’d do it again. You don’t even have to live here. Use it as your office space. The handle has a fingerprint lock, so nosey assholes can’t come read over your shoulder.”

At this she lets out an exasperated laugh.

“You deserve a space you can call your own while you figure out where you want to be.”

Her brows furrow together slowly, a kaleidoscope swirling in her eyes until it settles into something wonderful.

“What if where I want to be is with you? And we can figure out all the rest as it comes to us?”

My chest collapses, then inflates like a hot air balloon.

“That’s all I want too, boss. Me and you against the world.”

Her smile lifts, and when she leans up to meet my kiss in the middle, the weight of the world melts off my shoulders.

I’m surprised we even made it to the couch. But we lay there after, my leg hanging off, her head on my chest, her fingertips tracing little patterns over my sweaty skin while I run her hair through my fingers.

“So uh… We broke in the office,” I chuckle into the top of her head.

“We sure did. Solid seven-out-of-ten.”

I lift my head and peer down at her.

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