Zaid drives with one hand on the wheel, the other resting casually on his thigh. The sky outside is shifting into that dark black of night, and the silence between us isn’t awkward. It’s just full of the things we’re giving each other things to say.
I glance over at him. The slope of his nose. The slight pull on his brow. The way his lashes fan against his cheekbones when he
blinks.
He catches me.
“You’re staring,” he says, a small smile tugging at his lips.
I don’t even pretend to look away.
“I can’t help it,” I say softly. “You’re so beautiful to me.”
His jaw flexes just once, and he reaches across the console for my hand. Our fingers tangle together like muscle memory.
I look down at them. “We have a week. Just us. Before I go.”
“I know,” he says quietly, and even though he’s still smiling, I hear the weight in his voice.
There’s a silence again.
I squeeze his hand gently. “It’s going to suck, but it’s also going to be good. I mean, you knew I needed this. Before I even did.”
He nods, not looking at me, eyes fixed on the road ahead. “I knew. And I want you to have it. The space. The freedom. You’re own piece of life.”
His words warm me, and then guilt straddles my chest. I hesitate and take a breath. “Jake came by. While you and Aiden were gone that one day.”
He finally glances at me.
My heart is in my throat. “He gave me the deed.”
Zaid blinks. His hand tightens just slightly around mine, his other hand turning white on the wheel. “He wasn’t supposed to say anything.”
“Why?” I ask softly. “Why wouldn’t you want me to know?”
He’s quiet. For a while. He lets go of my hand and brings both of his hands to the wheel. “I didn’t want you to feel like you owed me anything. You broke up with Jake, and then Aiden. What if you felt the need to break up with me?”
“I wouldn’t have. I won’t. I don’t want to.”
He smiles, nodding. “But if you wanted to. I didn’t want this getting in the way. I wanted you to have a place that was yours. You had to leave Florida, you had to leave Arizona. But this is yours. No one can kick you out, no one can move you across the country.”
I wipe the tears from my cheeks.
“No matter where you end up. No matter who you chose, you have a home.”
“I’m going to miss you so much,” I whisper.
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Chapter 249
He chuckles under his breath, but there’s no humor in it, just tenderess. “You have no idea how much I’m going to miss you.”
I turn toward him more as he pulls into the driveway. We get out of the car silently and the moment we step inside the house, Zaid’s hand wraps around my wrist. He pulls me in, cupping my face before kissing me in a slow but intense kiss.
1
His hips press into mine, and I gasp from the tenderness and strengh of his touch.
“I’ve been wanting to do this all week,” Zaid exhales.
I nod against his lips. “Me, too.”
He lifts me into his arms, carrying me to the couch, where he lays on my back and settles over me. His hands explore my skin beneath my clothes and I freeze, pressing a hand to his chest.
“What are we doing?” I ask.
Zaid frown. “Right now?”
I nod. “Right now. For the next week, when I get back from Italy. When are we going to stop running from each other?”
He looks at me briefly, his eyes soft and sure. He pulls me with him as he sits, setting me on his lap with my legs around his hips. He looks like he’s thinking, letting his fingers trace the skin of my waist.
“I’m still working through stuff,” he says. “The way I grew up, the way I guarded myself. Everything that happened in the accident, and then everything that happening in the hospital. I know I’ve been messy with you. And selfish. And scared.”
“I’ve been scared, too,” I whisper.
He nods. “I know. That’s why this is good. You going to Italy. Me, staying. Facing the stuff I’ve avoided for a long time.”
I trace my thumb across his knuckles. “So what are we?”
He smiles faintly. “We’re each other’s future, and right now, you’re my hope.”
My throat is tight.
“We’ll figure it out when you come back,” he adds. “No pressure. No timelines.”
I nod, the tears finally spilling over, but I don’t hide them.
“Okay,” I whisper. “You’re my hope, too. You have been for a while. My peace. The quiet in my storm. I wouldn’t have the guts to do any of this if it weren’t for you.”
His eyes study me, and we fall quiet again.
Eventually, my lips find his. We kiss each other like this is the last time we will, like we want to savor every moment.
That week goes by fast. So fast. The day of my flight with Elena, my nerves are shot. I have half a mind to run out of the airport and find my way into Zaid’s arms. I remind myself why I’m doing this and get on that plane.
Elena comforts me and then distracts me. She shows me her presentations, documents on the paintings she hopes she will get a chance to look at and then bid on. We talk about college possibilities when I get back.
My heart feels incredibly hollow without Zaid by my side, and yet I know that I’m the luckiest person on the planet for having him in my life. For having Elena with me. For having this opportunity thrown on my lap.
2/3
Chapter 249
We have a short layover in Paris and by the time we make it to Florence, I am exhausted. The first thing I do is reach for my phone, I send out a text to Zaid and wait for his reply.
When it doesn’t come through, I call.
When that call doesn’t go through, I start pace.
There’s a knock on my door and then Elena walks in. She sees the worry on my face and she smiles. “Have you tried to call Zaid?”
Suspicion flashes through me, and I nod.
She nods. “I just talked to him, let him know we made it here safely.
I frown. “You talked to him?”
She makes her way toward me and hands me a letter. “He asked me to give you this.”
I reach for the envelope with a shaking hand, and Elena says nothing else as she walks out of my room.
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