Page 73 of Pulse
He laughs. “Troy, I owe you so many that we’ll never get even.”
“Let me know if you have any updates,” I say.
“You got it. Talk to you soon.”
“Thanks, Ford,” Dahlia says.
“Stay safe. We’ll see you back here before you know it.”
“Later.” I end the call.
Dahlia heaves a breath as I slide my phone back into my pocket. “I feel so bad about Burt.”
“Yeah, I know. We’ll make it up to him when we return to town.”
“We?”
“Hey, he just fought on behalf of my lady. I’m indebted to him.”
She grins. “I’m your lady, huh?”
“Is that okay?”
“I’ll be whatever you want me to be as long as it means you’re mine.”
I pull her to me and kiss the tip of her nose. Surely, she knows I’m hers—even if she doesn’t want me.
Nothing has ever made sense before. I’ve never met another person that I felt like truly gave a single shit about me. No one wanted to listen to anything I had to say. Most people never really see you, and if they do, it’s to see what you have of value they can take away.
Not Dahlia.
She asks for nothing but honesty. She goes out of her way to make me smile. I’ve given her a hard time for two years, and the woman still shows up for me.
She gets angry when she thinks I’m being treated unfairly.
She trusts me to keep her safe.
She gives me space to tell her my secrets and holds me when I fucking cry without judgment.
Dahlia gives me her body, her heart—her laughter and her smiles.
I don’t have as much to give her, and what I do is broken and rusty. But it’s hers if she wants it.
And I hope to hell she does.
Because for the first time in my thirty-seven years on this planet, my future means more than my past.
I didn’t think that was possible.
But I also didn’t think it was possible to fall in love, and I’ve done that.
Chapter Seventeen
Dahlia
I wipe the counters and toss the sponge in the sink.
Dinner was simple, yet delicious. We stopped at the village's small grocery store before returning earlier this afternoon. Troy grilled burgers while I threw some fries into the air fryer. We had a glass of wine and sat outside on the patio, talking and laughing.
