Page 133 of Worth Every Risk

A warmth ignites in my chest, like a solitary candle in a darkened room. “Of course.”

He snorts a laugh. “Sounds fucking weird, but I heard this voice inside my head telling me to come. So I got in the car and I drove right here. I don’t know what you’ve done to me, but I’m all in on this shit now.”

A wave of love for him rushes through me with such force, my breath catches. I want to tell him I love him, want to say the words, but I told him before and he never said them back. “I’m glad you came.”

He smiles, trailing his index finger up my neck, spreading tingles through my body. “I didn’t know whether you’d want to see me.”

“You know what my mother would say?” I ask, and he waits, quietly staring. “We’re always exactly where we should be. Exactly when we should be.”

His lips curve upwards. “She was a very smart woman, your mother.”

For the first time today, I smile too. Broad. Real.Happy. “She was.”

We’re quiet for a few minutes, and Matt lets his fingertips trail in the bath water. “If this tub wasn’t so small, I’d get in with you.”

I glance at him, then the tub, pretending to assess the dimensions. “It’s definitely too small.”

“I have a very large bathtub in London.”

My heart lurches.Is that an invitation?I glance at him, but he’s following the motion of his fingers in the water.

“There’s something I meant to tell you,” he continues. “And I know this really isn’t the moment, but if I wait, I might not say it and I’ve written this message over and over on my phone and never sent it, and I’m starting to feel like a damn, gutless fool.” His tongue swipes over his bottom lip and for every second ofthe pause that follows, my heart beats wildly, as though my ribs are the only thing stopping it from taking flight. “I’m in love with you.”

My heart catapults into my mouth, then slides slowly back down my throat. “Took you a while.”

“The saying of it, maybe. But not the feeling.”

Heat rises through me so intense that if we turned the lights off, I’m pretty sure I would be shining like the sun. “That makes it a wee bit better.”

“Just a wee bit,” he teases, and I laugh, but he keeps talking. “I know you have things to sort out here, but if you want to, I’d like you to come back to London. Live with me. Be with me. No rush. Take as much time as you want, but I’d really like you to make my home your home and fuck me until I can’t walk.”

I flick water at him, grinning. “So romantic.”

The side of his lips twitch up. “I just told you I love you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved a woman, and I let you leave me once. I don’t intend to do it again. I fucking love you. And I love fucking you. So please, come and live with me and let me do both until I’m old and grey. And even when I’m too old to fuck, I’ll still love you.” His finger slides across my shoulder and down my upper arm, making me hotter than the bathwater. “I’ve never met anyone like you, and I’m sure I never will again. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since you left. I’ve missed you so much, there were times I thought the pain might get the best of me. That I couldn't go on without you, because you’d clearly stolen my heart and tucked it inside that giant suitcase of yours and taken it to Scotland.” He blows out a beleaguered breath. “I love you, Aries. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to go through that again.”

I’ve wanted to hear these words for so long, but actually hearing them makes my throat swell.I’m going to cry.“I don’t either,” I whisper.

“So, it’s a deal? Because I’m not the only one who thought we were meant to be.” Tears sting my eyes, and even before he confirms it, I know who he means. “Your mother wrote me a letter.” He sounds serious, but his eyebrow quirks and a teasing smile touches his lips. “Said we have a connection. And that if we don’t work it out in this lifetime, we will in the next one.”

I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand, a confusing mix of happiness and sadness assailing me as I think of Mum secretly penning such a letter, refusing to hold back on her convictions, even though she must have known they’d sound outlandish to Matt.Looking out for me, right until the very end.“She did not,” I squeal.

He laughs, so loud and happy that my heart warms, the heat of it rising up my throat and melting away the lump that formed there.

“She absolutely did. And I think she might be right, so you can come home with me for this lifetime, or you can wait until the next one. I’m easy.”

“You’re easy?”

He nods. “Time is an illusion, right?”

Laughter splutters out of my mouth. “Oh, dear Lord. I need to get you out of this house before you turn into a different man entirely.”

“I think it might be too late for that. But I’d really rather we sorted our shit out this lifetime, right now, so I don’t have to wait.” He pauses and looks upwards like he’s reflecting on what he just said. “Fuck, I didn’t come here with the intention of forcing you into anything, or suggesting things while you’re… vulnerable.” He drags wet fingers through his hair, clumping the strands. “I’m making a mess of this. I don’t want to do anything if you aren’t ready—”

I cut him off with a kiss, leaning out of the bath, throwing my wet arms around him, soaking his shirt.

He chuckles into my mouth. “Is that a yes?”

“It’s a hell yes.”

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