Page 45 of Destined Lovers

“I know.” I chuckle. “I wore it for you.” He holds my stare, and something passes through us. It’s been happening for days now. All the feelings and emotions bottled up have been pouring out of us.

He’s confused. I can tell by the way his eyes narrow.

Of course, he should be. I’ve been giving mixed signals since the second I saw him and suddenly, I’ve done a three-sixty. How would he know I’ve decided to channel my feelings for once and let the wind take me wherever?

Deciding he won’t question it. He picks up the first thing in the box—a stack of pictures that I’ve kept since we were little kids.

One of us swimming in the lough near his house; I was probably around eight or so.

Another of us dressed up, on my insistence, for my tenth birthday.

He continues flipping through all my favorite pictures, smiling, laughing, and in an instant, frowning.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know how it’s possible. I have no pictures like this of us. Can we make copies?”

I nod. “Of course.”

The following picture makes me laugh loudly, and I cover my mouth quickly.Oh god, how embarrassing.

“I missed that snort.” He smiles down at me and kisses my forehead again.

I love his lips.

The picture is of him in a full-on drag getup, makeup and all. For Declan’s eighteenth birthday, he lost a bet and had to walk around all day dressed like this. God, it was so funny watching people’s faces when he walked by. Everyone knew it was still him. His makeup skills sucked.

“That was one of the worst days of my life,” he grumbles, and I can’t help but laugh again.

The last picture is one of my favorites. It’s the first night he called me his girlfriend.

He swipes his finger over my coppery red hair and then glances back at me, eyeing my hair in disgust.

Who would have known someone could miss someone else’s hair so much?

The next thing he picks up is a letter he sent me years ago, and we both frown while my heart drops into my stomach.

I try to pull it out of his hand, but he’s quicker and moves it out of my reach.

“Don’t,” he snaps, and I gulp down my fear of him reading it and changing his mind about the trip.

Just two days ago, I was trying to push him back out of my life, and now I need him to stay.

“Declan,” I murmur, and he doesn’t acknowledge me in the slightest. “Please look at me, Dec,” I beg. He must hear the vulnerability in my voice because he begrudgingly turns his head, his face void of emotion—even his eyes.

“I kept it as a reminder that you wouldn’t give up on me. I had to believe that you would be there for me when I met you again. It kept me going and gave me support when I needed it the most.”

“Did you receive my other letters and ignore them too?”

I shake my head frantically. “Only this one, I promise. Please understand that keeping this letter was a lifeline to you.”

“And what lifeline did I get Pip? In this letter, I begged you to at least tell me you were okay. I told you I didn’t care where or who you were with. Just as long as you were okay.”

I take his hand in mine and squeeze lightly. “You won’t understand now why I didn’t,couldn’t, answer. It’s one thing you must be okay with for now. You promised you’d be okay with not knowing yet.” My voice cracks, and he drops his head in defeat.

He blows out a large breath and nods his head. “You’re right. I did.” He places the letter back in the box and goes to shut it, but I stop him. There is one thing I think that may possibly turn his mood around.

“You missed him.” I smile shyly, and his face lights up

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