When I arrived home, I changed out of my suit and went down to the beach. I sat close to the shoreline, my feet catching the waves as they rolled up onto the shore. After doing some soul-searching, I went back to the house and poured myself a scotch. My phone pinged with a text message from Julian. Opening it, there was a picture of him holding his baby girl with the caption: “Isn’t she the most beautiful baby you’ve ever seen?”
I smiled, replied, and set my phone down. I was happy for him and Laurel. I truly was. But I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate. Call me selfish. I know. I felt it hard. And I needed to push Paige out of my head so I could move on with my life. I was always a carefree type of guy, never lonely, and very controlled. The truth was, I’d never felt lonelier since Paige left. It was almost as if she took a piece of my soul with her.
I was startled out of my thoughts by a knock at the door. It was probably Roman, my dad, or one of the moms. Sighing, I set my drink down, walked to the door, and opened it as my heart wanted to jump out of my throat.
“Hi.” Paige pushed past me and set her purse down. “Don’t say a word.” She held up her finger as she walked over to the bar and poured herself a drink. After gulping it down in one sip, she poured another. “I don’t know what this is or how you feel, but I kind of missed you.”
“Kind of?” I smiled, walking over to her. “I missed you, Paige. But I’m pissed as hell at you.”
“I know.” She looked down. “I didn’t leave because I didn’t care. That’s the problem, Parker. I left because I cared too much. You have this world. Family dinners. Inside jokes. Traditions. People who show up for you without being asked. And I don’t know what to do with that. It freaked me out. I didn’t know how to stay. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t know how to exist in a healthy life without waiting for it to collapse. I thought if I left, I could go back to my normal life. But leaving didn’t fix anything. It didn’t make the feelings disappear. It didn’t make you disappear. If anything, it made me realize that running from you was just another form of being in prison. But I don’t know how to exist in your world.”
“Paige,” my low voice spoke as I stared into her beautiful eyes. “I know I can’t erase what Hearthstone did. I can’t rewrite your past or pretend the scars you have aren’t there. And I won’t insult you by trying. But what I can do is give you something different. Something honest. Something safe.”
“Everything about you and your world feels permanent, Parker. I don’t trust permanence or safety. Not after what happened to me,” she said.
“Hearthstone taught you that love is dangerous.” I reached out and took hold of her hand, expecting her to pull away, butshe didn’t. I softly brushed my fingers over hers. “I want to spend the rest of my life showing you that love is safe, regardless of what they told you. I love you, Paige. I’m in love with you. And when I woke up that morning, and you were gone, my entire world burned to the ground.”
“Honestly, Parker. How can you love someone like me? I’m a cold-blooded assassin.”
“You were rewired, Paige. It isn’t your fault. You weren’t born that way. I don’t love you because you’re strong or fearless. Or because you survived something unimaginable. I love you because you’re you. Because you walk into a room and challenge everything I thought I understood about control, love, and myself. You didn’t just change my world. You became a part of it. The part I never want to live without. I need you.” I pulled her into my chest and held her head. “Not in a way that traps or owns you. In the way that I choose you. Even on the days when you feel broken and convinced you don’t belong in my life. I choose you, Paige. All of you. All your past, your scars, your fears, everything.”
“You’re asking a lot, Hamilton,” she said, pulling away from me.
“You don’t have to trust it all at once. Just trust it a little. Then a little more.”
“And what if I run again?” she asked.
“Well, I’ll be here when you stop. I won’t chase you, and I won’t demand answers. I will do nothing but love you unconditionally, no matter what.”
Paige
Those three little words he spoke echoed in my head. I stood there, staring at him, trying to piece together the two versions of my reality. The one Hearthstone created, and the one Parker offered.
“Why me?” I asked. “You spent years avoiding relationships. You closed yourself off and wouldn’t let anyone in. But you’re letting me in, and I want to know why.”
“You want the truth?” His brow arched.
“Yes, I do.”
“Control is overrated compared to the connection I feel with you. I spent years convincing myself that not needing anyone was a strength. My world was quiet in all the wrong ways before you stuck that gun into my back.” A smirk crossed his lips. “You’re the part of it that makes everything else in my life meaningful. I tried to keep you at a distance, but I couldn’t. It felt like too much of a loss, and I never lose.”
He wanted me to try. I could do that because my life felt a little less empty when he was around.
“I can’t change who I am, Parker. This is what you’re getting.” I held my arms out to the side. “Even all the bad parts.”
“I know and don’t care. I want all of you, and I don’t want you to change. I love you exactly the way you are.”
My chest tightened. He saw me in a way I didn’t know how to handle. I owed him for that. Nobody had ever looked at me the way he did. I inhaled a sharp breath as I took a few steps toward him and placed my hand on his cheek.
“The last person I said that I loved was my mom, right before the accident happened.” I swallowed hard. “I—I?—”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to say it.” A soft smile graced his lips as his hands gripped my hips.
“Let me finish. If I stop now, I won’t start again. I control every situation in my life. But this feels like I’m standing on the edge of something I have no control over, and for once, Ithink I’ll be okay.” I inhaled a sharp breath. “I love you, Parker Hamilton.”
“Come here.” He wrapped his arms tightly around me and pressed his lips against the top of my head. “You have no idea how happy I am. This is the start of a beautiful life together, Paige, and I’m all in.”
“So am I.” I broke our embrace and stared into his eyes. “Can I move in?”