Page 103 of Cross My Heart

“Telling on me.” I grin, but he doesn’t return it. “I needed this, Ty. Being here has taught me a lot about myself. I wouldn’t have made any progress without coming here. I see that now.”

Tyler’s lips part, but he quickly schools his features. “So what have you learned?”

I sigh, scooting closer to him and grabbing his hand. I squeeze it gently, and he looks down at our connection. “I’ve learned to not take life for granted. That I deserve to be here,alive, and that my friends would’ve wanted that for me. I haven’t been doing any of that—not really. Up until now, I was just surviving. But I want to live, Ty. And I want to do it withyou.”

He nods. “I want that too, baby.” His voice is thick with emotion, and he clears it. “That’s all I’ve wanted.”

“I know,” I reply. “I’m ready now.”

This time, Tyler is the one to squeeze my hand, a little rougher than I did to him. “Good, because I’ve been waiting for you.”

I laugh, and he does too. “Took you long enough.”

There’s a moment of silence between us, and when it seems like he’s not going to break it, I ask, “What about you, Ty? What have you been doing for the past two months?”

“I sold the bar and the house.” He shrugs nonchalantly, though I know he is anything but. “Now I’m living with my parents like a teenager. Waiting for you to get out of here so we can be together.”

“Sounds fitting.” I smirk. “You did promise you’d wait for me.”

Tyler chuckles, “Yeah, I did.” Another moment of silence, but this one is not uncomfortable. “So…what now?”

“Well, I have one month left,” I sigh. I’m ready to go home, but I also know I have to put in the work if I really want to get better. “Will you be okay until then?”

“I will be.” He smiles. “Knowing I get you when you’re done here is all the motivation I need to get me through this. But I meant—what happens after you’re done here? What’s our plan?”

“Well…” I frown. “We should start looking for a house as soon as I get out of here.”

“To rent or to buy?”

“I’d love to buy something together.” It screams commitment, and I want nothing more than to be committed to Tyler Hayes for the rest of my life. “And you could look for a bar at the Riverwalk. It would probably be the best location for you. All the soldiers go there during the weekends to get shit-faced.”

Tyler snorts, then smiles. “I want to go back to school.”

“Hell yes, Tyler.” I grin. “It’s about damn time.”

“I’m a free man now, Noah. Scarlett and I are officially divorced.”

My heart squeezes painfully in my chest. I didn’t know how badly I needed to hear those words until now, but they’re music to my ears. For the past sixteen years, I’ve wanted Tyler to be mine. Something always got in the way of it—but not now. He can’t escape me anymore. We’re meant to be. “Ty, do you believe in soulmates?”

Tyler seems to think about this, then says, “I believe in us.”

I believe in us.

Four words shouldn’t turn my world upside down, because the truth is—I believe in us too.

So fucking much.

Chapter 52

NOAH

Today is the day I go home.

After three months of being here, I’m not actually sure I want to leave yet. If I could be here for a while longer I’d do it, which in turn makes me feel guilty because I know Tyler misses me. Just as I’ve missed him.

The problem is now I have to go back to reality, back to facing all of the problems I’ve managed to escape while I was in here. I report back to my command today right after Tyler picks me up, and I’ve never been more nervous about anything in my life.

I’m being discharged.

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