Page 100 of Lorenzo & Lily

“It isn’t your fault.”

“It isn’t yours, either.”

She shook her head. “I had a hard time believing you really loved me, that anyone could. I was so…broken, I guess. It’s a mess, isn’t it? Everything’s a mess.”

They’d both been broken, hadn’t they? “Life’s a mess. Life is messy. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it.”

He took in her tear-stained cheeks and softened lips. She was stunning. Absolutely stunning, inside and out. “God, Lily. Don’t leave me again. Promise me.”

He kissed her, forgetting his parents were nearby, forgetting that a hospital full of family and staff were just outside the door. “Promise me you’ll never leave.”

“I never really did, though, did I? I never really left you, and you never left me.”

She was right about that; he’d never stopped loving her, no matter how much he tried to deny it. “Promise me, please.”

“I promise,” she whispered. “I’ll never leave you.”

“Thank God. I’ll never leave you or Liliana, either.” He kissed her, hard and deep and long, then buried his face in her neck.

“Was that a proposal?” she whispered.

“Not even close. When I propose, you’ll know it.”

In each other’s arms, neither of them felt broken at all.

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