Page 148 of The Hallows Queen

“Maybe I will.” She clicks her tongue. “Wear sweatpants, make you dinner, and pop out a kid every other year to keep me busy.”

I laugh. “If that will make you happy, I’ll gladly fill you with my babies whenever you want.”

She smirks. “Everything feelsnewright now, H. We don’t have to make all the decisions immediately. Who knows what the future’s going to look like for us. We can have anything we want.”

I nod, a smile spreading across my face. “As long as we’re together.”

“Forever?” she asks, putting a hand under her chin and leaning her head to the side to look at me with wonder in her eyes.

“Forever, baby.”

Chapter53

Penelope

Two weeks later

I bounceon the balls of my feet outside security in the airport as my eyes scan the masses of people pouring out of the doors. There’s only one person I care about seeing right now, and that’s Hayden. I haven’t seen him in a week, and he’s coming to Luxington to spend the weekend with me. I feel crazy for thinking it, but everything is going amazing with him.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something bad to happen, but so far, nothing has. We FaceTime every night at bedtime, he calls me on lunch breaks, and we’ve gotten really good at texting over the last two weeks. It barely feels like he’s across the country, living a separate life to me. He makes me feel so comfortable and loved without even trying to.

We can’t go five minutes without talking to each other, and some nights, we’ve even fallen asleep on FaceTime because we’re too stubborn to say goodbye.

I don’t feel like I need the next two weeks to figure out if this is going to work. Something deep inside of me justknowsthat this is right, that this is the way it was supposed to be all along.

Now that he’s back in my life, I feel whole again. I feel like I did before all the bad shit happened.

There are parts of me that are still hesitant, but now that I’ve had the chance to get to know the new Hayden, I feel more secure than I ever have. He’sdifferent.It was almost like all the trauma, all the bullshit he went through, shaped him into someone who deserves the love I can give. Maybe he was right when he told me we met at the wrong time, maybe we were always meant to be together, but we just weren’t ready for each other. Whatever happens, though, I’ll always know that I followed my heart, my soul, and my brain.

I gave it time. I tested the waters. I made sure I felt okay with him before taking a leap, and I will always feel smart about that.

But today, I’m going to tell him that I’m flying back to California with him on Sunday, that I’m leaving Luxington behind and we’re never looking back, that we’ll never have to stare our pain and loss in the face again, and that we can finally start our life together.

Throughout my life, I’ve always heard that phrase –when you know, you know– and I never let it hold too much weight. But now that Iknow… I understand.

Hayden is right for me. He’s the key that opens the parts of me that I hid long ago, and we make each other the best versions of ourselves.

When I spot Hayden’s dark hair over the crowds of people, I stand on my tiptoes to try to catch his eye. When he spots me, his face spreads into that beautiful smile I see in my dreams. My stomach fills with nerves, and I feel my face go hot.

When he pushes through the crowd, he races toward me, dropping his bag on the floor before he picks me up and slams his lips to mine. I fall even more in love with him then, closing my eyes and wrapping my legs around his waist as we kiss in the sea of people, and I feel my heart pounding in my chest.

When his tongue slides against mine, a lightning bolt of need runs through me and sends sparks straight to my core. I pull back, breathing against his mouth. “I need you.”

He smiles against my lips, kissing me again before he puts me back down on my feet. Sliding his fingers through mine, he picks his bag up off the floor and starts to pull me behind him. “Come on.”

My head spins, and when we’ve crossed through the airport, he pulls me into one of the family bathrooms tucked away in the corner. Locking the door, he drops his bag on the floor and looks at me, crooking his finger to bring me closer. “Come here, P.”

As I try to get my mind to catch up with my heart, I step up to him and kiss him again, threading my fingers through his hair. His hands find my waist, and he pushes my dress up over my hips before he slides his fingers under the seam of my panties and pulls them down.

I moan against his tongue, desire pooling between my legs as he kicks my panties to the side and then starts undoing the button on his jeans.

“Hayden,” I moan, pulling back to look at him.

“I missed you,” he says, breathless and needy as he pulls his zipper down. When he frees his cock from his pants, my mouth waters and I reach for him. While I wrap my hand around him, he grabs onto my hips and lifts me, spinning around to press me against the door.

“Hold on to me, baby,” he groans, squeezing my ass with one hand and sliding his cock through my center with the other.

I grab his shoulders, then we’re both rolling our hips as he slides inside me.

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