Page 36 of Knot Your Sunshine
"What were you thinking?"
That I'd rewrite every law of physics if it meant she'd stay. That I'd delete every line of code I'd ever written just to make her smile.
"I wasn't thinking," I say instead.
I watch Noa return to his paperwork, shoulders rigid with the same tension he carried during our company's server crash of '19. Three days without sleep, surviving on coffee and determination, convinced everything would collapse if he stopped moving for even a second.
He's doing it again. Taking responsibility for everything, or at lest in his head.
My pager buzzes against my hip.
The sound is so unexpected I fumble it, nearly dropping the device. The screen lights up with three letters that stop my heart:
MIA.
"She paged me." My voice cracks embarrassingly.
Noa's head snaps up so fast I hear his neck pop. Keanu crosses the room in two strides.
"What does it say?" They speak in perfect unison.
My hands shake as I read: "Meet me at the marina overlook. Now."
* * *
We reach the marina overlook in record time, all three of us slightly out of breath. The path here winds along the cliff's edge, offering views of boats bobbing in the resort's harbor below.
She's there, standing at the railing with her back to us, sundress rippling in the wind, her scent carried by the breeze, growing stronger the closer we get.
By the time we're about six feet away from her and she turns, my knees threaten to give out. She looks calm. Composed. Absolutely beautiful with the sun behind her.
"I've had time to think." Her violet eyes move between us, steady and determined. "While I don't approve of your methods... at all... I'm willing to move past the deception."
Beside me, Keanu makes a small sound, like someone just pulled him from underwater. Noa sways slightly, and I see his hand twitch like he wants to reach for her. My own hands clench and unclench at my sides, every neuron screaming at me to move closer, to never let her out of my sight again.
"But." She holds up one hand, and we all freeze. "I need to know something first."
She takes a breath, looks out at the ocean, then back at us.
"My last three relationships ended the same way. I chose my business over date night one too many times." Her fingers grip the railing behind her.
She pauses, and I watch her throat work as she swallows.
"They all said they supported my dreams. Right up until my dreams meant they weren't my priority. Can you honestly handle that? Not just say you can, but actually live with it?"
"Yes." Keanu doesn't hesitate, not even for a heartbeat.
"Mia." I step forward, needing her to understand. "Before we sold our company, before any of this"—I wave vaguely at the resort visible in the distance—"we lived in a converted garage working sixteen-hour days. I once forgot to eat for a whole day because I was debugging code. Literally forgot food existed."
Her eyes widen slightly.
"Keanu surfed by moonlight because daylight hours were for working," I continue, the memories flooding back. "Noa didn't see his family for two months during our final push. We built something from nothing, and it consumed us completely." I meet her gaze. "We know what obsession looks like. We lived it. Breathed it."
"Wait." She looks between us, genuine surprise on her face. "You built your company yourselves? I thought you inherited—"
"We built a B2B software company. Started with two laptops and a dream," Noa says, and there's quiet pride in his voice. "Josh wrote every line of code. I handled the sales side, Keanu the design and marketing."
"We know what dreams cost," I add softly. "And what they're worth when you achieve them."
