Page 114 of Mafioso's Muse

Willow’s eyes went instantly shiny at hearing that. ‘I know. I’m sorry.’

‘I think our recovery time has been about the same.’

That made her smile.

There was a lot he wanted to say, and he was struggling with where to begin. ‘Listen, I know it’s been a huge morning for you, but there are some things I want to say to you before I drive away.’

Willow’s expression turned serious. ‘Okay.’

‘A big part of me wanted to shield you from what happened in there.’ He drew a breath. ‘But I’m not sure you would have believed it had you not witnessed Harrison’s guilt the way you did. Or Nigel, for that matter.’

She didn’t respond.

‘Not every bad guy looks like me.’

Willow ran her eyes over him. ‘My mum’s his biggest fan. She’s never going to believe it when I tell her. I’m tempted to just let her read about it in the paper.’

He really wanted another cigarette. ‘You seem confident that I was telling the truth in there.’

‘You might keep a lot of secrets, but you’ve never lied to me.’

Vaughn nodded slowly. ‘I’d say I’m sorry about all the secrets, but that would be a lie, putting an end to the streak.’

The corners of her eyes creased.

‘Some parts of me are better left in the dark,’ he added.

She searched his face. ‘I wanted to bring every inch of you into the light, you know. Now I realise how wrong that was. As with all great works of art, it’s the play of light and shadow that makes it interesting.’

Suppressing a smile, he looked off down the street. ‘Very true.’

She was silent a moment before saying, ‘For the record, I loved you just as you were, even if I had a few improvements in mind.’

He wasn’t surprised by the mention of love. They might not have said it aloud before, but they’d felt it. They had fallen dangerously fast, and he had yet to resurface.

‘Willow.’ He took a step towards her, then, remembering the boundary, stopped. ‘There’s no light and shadow without you, only darkness. You’re my anchor to the light.’

Willow’s eyes filled with tears before she looked away. ‘I’m sorry I believed the people who said it was your fault.’

‘Don’t be.’ He shook his head. ‘Even I thought it was my fault.’

‘I should have called you the next day from the hospital,’ she continued, looking back at him. ‘I should have said thank you, and I trust you, and I love you.’ She bit down on her lip when it quivered. ‘Because I do.’

Vaughn was done with the invisible boundary. He stepped up to her, and she threw her arms around him, clearly forgetting that she’d broken a rib six weeks earlier. He held her as gently as he could, for the longest time.

‘I’m not letting go this time,’ she said quietly.

He buried his face in her hair. ‘Good. I’ll find a way to make this work. All you have to do is trust me.’

She melted against him. ‘I trust you.’

He savoured the sensation of her heart thrumming against his chest.

‘There are only so many times we can break our own hearts,’ she said.

He gently detached from her so he could look into her eyes when he said, ‘Crafting a life for us, in which youthrive, will be my masterpiece.’

Willow pushed up onto her toes, kissing him with those impossibly soft lips of hers. She tasted so familiar.

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