Page 138 of The Twilight Theft

I leaned forward on the island.

After he’d been in Halifax for a few weeks, he’d finally told me the truth about them. The good times, the bad times, and the shock after their deaths. He hadn’t visited their graves since he discovered they’d adopted him.

“I want to move on. I don’t want to carry that anger anymore. So I forgave them.” He blinked several times and looked out toward the water. “But the truth is…”

“Letting go is hard?” Guilt over what happened to Tanner had gnawed at me for twelve years. But in the past month and a half, it had finally started to fade. Emmett suggested my relationship with Drew had something to do with it; I’d told him he was psychoanalyzing me again.

“It is.” He fluttered his eyelids and dragged a hand across his eyes. “Everything’s fallen into place too easily. Too suddenly. I’m waiting for the shoe to drop. To find out your company isn’t really the good guys. Or for Gideon to take back this offer. For you to tell me I’m jumping into our relationship too fast.”

“Never fear the leap. That’s what my coach used to say.”

Drew nodded, looking down at the counter. He wasn’t being standoffish. He was being scared.

I slid off the stool and walked around the island to run a hand over his back.

He pulled me into his arms—his strong, muscular arms that made me feel safe and so wanted—and buried his face against my hair.

“The only thing to fear—” My throat tightened and the backs of my eyes prickled. I held onto my man with all the strength I had. “The only thing to fear is standing still.”

He nodded. “I used to think you threw my world off balance.”

“I’m good at that.”

“No.” He kissed the side of my head. “The last two weeks—being away from you? I realized my life’s been out of balance for a long time. You were the one trying to straighten it for me.”

No one had ever accused me of anything like that. Annoying them, entertaining them, distracting them, sure. But definitely not making them better.

He whispered, “I want you to move in here with me.”

Butterflies took flight inside my stomach. Was he serious?

He squeezed me tighter. “You don’t need to answer right now.”

“Commute must be a bitch.”

Drew pulled back, chuckling. “It’s only twenty minutes to your office.”

“My old commute was five.”

“You’re so spoiled in this city.” He ran a hand through my hair and kissed my temple.

“Nah. The office is in a convenient spot.” I snaked a hand out of our embrace and ran my nails over his short beard. “So why haven’t you kissed me yet?”

“I didn’t want to manipulate you. I wanted your honest opinion.”

“You didn’t think the food would sway me?”

He looked around and shrugged. “Maybe a little.”

I’d been taking tiny leaps for years, trying to ensure I didn’t fall into my dark days again. Why would I even think I would? I had a job and friends I loved. I got to travel the world and meet interesting people. The Reynolds team cared enough about me that they brought my boyfriend home and offered him a job. Sure, part of that was how awesome he was, but part of it was for me.

They didn’t want me only for what I could do. They wanted me for me.

Just like Drew did.

Moving in with him would be a big leap. Too big? Or just the right size?

“Did you make croissants?”

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