Page 78 of Dared

I pulled him into me, as close as I could get him. “I feel the same.”

“I forgot to say.” Stifling a yawn, he stretched and then curled back into me. “I got the results back from my project presentation today. Seventy-eight percent.”

“Baby, that’s amazing.” I was so happy for him. “I knew you could do it.”

“You helped.”

“No. Leo, that was all you. You impressed the panel, you put in the work…youdid that.”

“I did, didn’t I?” Despite the obvious disbelief in his voice, there was a note of pride.

“You did. You’re incredible. Whatever you put your mind to, you achieve.”

“You make me sound like one of theLesath Legendsheroes,” he said softly.

I shifted until I could meet his gaze.

“Youarelike one of those heroes. You’re Leo Evans. My lion.”

A slow smile spread across his face, even as his eyes filled with tears. He reached out, tracing a finger across my jaw. Cupping my cheek, he moved closer until our foreheads were touching, his warm breath skating across my skin.

“Your lion,” he said.

EPILOGUE

FIVE YEARS LATER

“Surprise!”

Three voices shouted at the same time as Finn lifted his hands from my eyes. I blinked at the sudden rush of light in my vision, but it only took a few seconds for the world to come into focus. Finn’s parents and Ed were standing in the kitchen behind the table, which was piled high with all my favourite foods, including several giant pizzas. A “congratulations” banner hung from the ceiling, and several helium-filled balloons were bobbing up and down, tethered to various surfaces with shiny ribbon.

“What? This is for me?”

Arms wrapped around my waist from behind, and a soft kiss was placed to the back of my neck before Finn hooked his chin over my shoulder.

“All for you. We wanted to celebrate your promotion.”

“Database engineer at Lightdark Studios. That’s the coolest job ever, especially for you since they produce your favourite game.” Ed rounded the table to throw an arm around us both, squeezing my shoulder. His other hand was occupied with scooping up a huge slice of pizza, which he attempted to shovel into his mouth as he was hugging us. Finn pushed him away, muttering about chewing sounds, and they began bickering good-naturedly as I headed over to their parents.

“Congratulations.”Finn’s mum hugged me, followed by his dad. “We’re so proud of you.”

“Thank you.” I smiled at the two people who had become my surrogate parents. My dad had his own life, and although we kept each other updated on the important things and met up when we could, I’d never have the close relationship I had with the Carsleys. “I can’t believe I got the job. I thought someone with more experience would get it.”

“Don’t downplay your talent.” Finn pressed up against me again, wrapping me up in his arms and surrounding me with his spiced apple scent. “You’re amazing.”

“You are, Mr. Biomedical Engineer.That’simpressive.”

“That’s old news.” He kissed the spot just below my ear. “I don’t get to work on our favourite game every day, do I?”

“It’s not as exciting as you make it sound,” I said. It was true because my job wasn’t the most glamorous, but it was an important part of the whole game creation process. I got to work in a relaxed environment where I helped to develop the game I loved without having too much human interaction. My social anxiety wasn’t ever going to go away, but my bosses understood how I was, and most importantly, it didn’t affect the work I did.

I got to do a job I loved, Finn got to do a job he loved, and we got to come home to each other every day.

It might not have seemed like an exciting life to some people, but to me, it was everything. We had a small flat in south-east London that we called our own and had decorated together, with the second bedroom converted into a gaming room, and we had the rings we’d chosen on our left hands as a symbol of our commitment to each other.

Yes, we were married. It would be our one-year wedding anniversary in two months.

No, we didn’t have a gaming theme for our wedding.

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