Page 160 of Here and Now
“We give him one more minute,” Quinn says after his eyes meetmine. “We don’t press send until we have Penelope and Kai secured out of the building.”
Liam looks to me with a sadness I’ve never seen there. He knows the outcome of this story. There is no happily ever after. The princess gets saved by the handsome prince only to be left planning his funeral.
I’m not living a romance—it’s a tragedy instead.
They check their watches and Quinn gestures his hand forward. Ben moves to me and I get to my feet, pulling Kai with me and starting to fight. “No. No, please, Ben. Please don’t ... I can’t leave him. I can’t go.”
“Penelope, we have to move. Your brother and Liam will do what they have to.”
I can’t give up on him. He didn’t do that on me. Not when I was scared or pulling away or threatening to leave him.
“Mommy, where is Miles?” Kai asks, and I keep him against my body so he can’t see me fall apart.
I hold it in, looking up to the sky as the agony of his loss is felt through my body. I hear Quinn and Liam open the door, but before they can take a step out, Miles is standing there with a smile.
His voice is thick as he stares into my eyes. “It’s over.”
Relief rushes through me, and he’s moving to me before I can unlock my muscles. Then he’s in front of me, his warm hands cup my cheeks, and his lips are on mine. It’s not a long kiss, but it’s the best one of my life.
He pulls back. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “You’re okay?”
He smiles and looks down at Kai. “And you, buddy?” Kai wraps his arms around Miles’s torso as an answer, and he pats his back. “Good. Now let’s go home.”
We are on a private plane back to Ember Falls. Ben, Liam, Quinn, and Miles have spent the last thirty minutes debriefing, or whatever they call it, with me sitting on Miles’s leg. He hasn’t let go of me since we were reunited.
Kai is sound asleep on the couch toward the back.
“I don’t think we have to worry,” Miles says, rubbing his thumb in circles on my hip. “He looked through the book before he made his choice, and he thinks we don’t understand anything that’s in it, since it was no help. Plus, he doesn’t know that Ainsley was already working on a story that he would’ve been tied up in, and with the new evidence she’s collected, I think he’ll be arrested within a day or two.”
Quinn nods. “I agree, he’s arrogant enough to think that him having the book is enough.”
“All of this sounds great, but they know where I am,” I say.
Miles pulls me tighter. “It doesn’t matter. We have the upper hand now, and the story Ainsley’s paper is going to run doesn’t mention you or the book. No one will hurt you or Kai. This is going to be over very soon.”
I nestle into him more, feeling like even if I could burrow inside him, it wouldn’t be close enough.
“Liam and Ben are going to stay in Ember Falls for a few days. Once the information breaks, it’ll be over,” my brother says with confidence before turning to Miles. “I was worried this would go much differently. I wasn’t sure ...”
Miles’s body tenses. “I wasn’t either for a minute. I think he thought we were bluffing at one point, and then I informed him time was up and he better kill me now or be ready to wish he was dead.”
“I’m glad he picked the right option,” my brother says as he extends his hand. “You have my respect and gratitude. Even if my sister drives me crazy, I couldn’t imagine my life without her. Thank you for not being willing to let her go.”
Miles shakes his hand. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her and Kai.”
Quinn nods once. “I know. You two should talk. We’ll head over there and give you some time together.”
The three guys get up, and Liam and Ben both shake Miles’s hand as well. We’re alone and he moves me so my legs drape over him. I’m tucked in the corner, and the back of the chair is providing us some privacy.
My fingers brush against his stubbled cheek. “Hi.”
He grins. “Hi.”
“You love me?” I ask, even though I’ve felt his love in everything he does.
“Very much.”
