Page 174 of Seven Lost Summers
He’s looking at me as though I’m the place he’s been trying to find his whole life—as though every road has led him here, to me, to home.
“I’ve spent years keeping everyone at arm’s length,” he continues, voice low, almost careful, as if the words might break if he’s not gentle with them. “After Bianca… after losing her, I thought that was how you survive. You keep moving, keep smiling. You never let anyone close enough to see how much you’re still bleeding. But you… you shattered all of that. You made me believe I could be more than what loss turned me into. You made me believe there’s still something in me worth loving. And for the first time since she died… I want to let someone in.”
His hand slides to the back of my neck, pulling me in until his breath brushes mine.
“I can’t promise I won’t screw up,” he says. “I’ll say the wrong thing, get stuck in my head, push when I should hold on. I’ll fuck it up sometimes. But I’m done keeping my distance, Q. I’m done letting fear win. You’re the one I want to fight for. I’ll love you on the easy days, and I’ll love you harder on the days that scare the shit out of me. Because losing you…” His thumb grazes my jaw. “Losing you would be the one thing I wouldn’t come back from.”
My throat aches. I want to answer, to tell him that every word he just gave me is buried so deep in my bones that he’s always been part of who I am, but my voice won’t work. My chest is too tight. My eyes sting. And the way he’s looking at me splinters whatever walls I had left.
So I do the only thing I can.
I move.
My hand curls into his shirt, bunching the fabric between my fingers as I pull myself into him. I press my mouth to his, soft at first, because anything harder might break me wide open. He exhales into me, as though he’s been holding his breath for years.
Then he kisses me back. Gone is the carefulness. His hand at my neck tightens, his thumb brushing my jaw, tilting me just enough so he can take the kiss deeper. It’s all heat and desperation, a clash of breath and pulse and the sharp taste of want. He kisses me like he’s making a promise, and maybe he is, one he doesn’t need words for.
When I finally pull back, it’s only enough to breathe. My forehead rests against his and both of us pant. His eyes search mine, and his confession still thrums through me, waiting for my answer.
“I love you too,” I whisper.
His eyes close like the words hit somewhere deep, somewhere he’s been afraid to touch for a long time. The corners of his mouth curve, not into a smile, but into something softer. He presses a kiss to my temple, lingering against my skin, and I swear the relief shows in the way his body loosens against mine.
For a moment, the world narrows to only us, full of all the things we’ve never said until now.
I want to stay inside that space, let the feeling wrap around us until nothing else exists. But the world still presses in. And a piece of it stands only a few feet away.
I turn my head, and find Theo watching.
He’s not smirking, not making a joke or hiding behind that cocky grin he uses when he wants to pretend nothing gets to him.
I turn my attention back to Nate. The weight of what he just said is still vibrating through me. He leans in, his mouth grazing my lips, and murmurs something too soft for me to catch.
His attention shifts to Theo. The air between them changes without a single word spoken. Nate’s fingers slide down my arm, catching my hand before releasing it, the warmth lingering even after it’s gone. He steps forward and stops in front of Theo, close enough that the rest of the room seems to fall away.
I can’t hear what is said, but I see Theo’s jaw tighten, then he gives a small, certain nod. Nate’s hand finds his shoulder, a brief squeeze that says more than words ever could. I’ve always known something unshakable binds them, but at this moment it’s written in every line of their faces.
When Nate turns back to me, the edges of his mouth curve in that way that always knocks the breath from my chest.
“I’m heading to Marino’s,” he says. “Haven’t been there in forever. I’ll grab us a couple of pizza’s and let you two talk. Remember how they would always burn the crust but we still ate the whole damn thing anyway?”
The corner of my mouth lifts before I can stop it. “You mean before you drowned every slice in chilli flakes?”
His grin deepens. “That’s the one.”
He then moves toward the door.
Theo hasn’t moved, but his gaze is still on me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Nate pause at the doorway, glance back at us, and then leave without another word.
The room seems smaller once he’s gone, though his presence still clings to the space.
Theo takes a slow step forward, and I know something is coming. I sense it building.
Chapter 30
Theo
