“But…” Her brow furrows. “Carmen said you got it in honor of her. That it’s the date?—”
“I let my family think that. Because I didn’t want to tell them the truth.” I level my gaze at her. “It’s for you. For the night wekissed.” I pause, my eyes closing again. “You always loved roses, Scarlett.”
Her fingers trace the outline of the tattoo, featherlight. “You got this for me?”
I nod, fighting the heaviness of sleep. “Everything is for you. Why do you think I came back to Sully’s Beach? Why I come to the coffee shop every single day?”
“But I thought?—”
“It wasn’t for the coffee, Scarlett.” I reach up to stroke her cheek. “It was always for you.”
She wraps her hand around mine and brushes her lips to my forehead.
It’s the last thing I see before sleep drags me under completely. And even in my dreams, she’s there, right next to me.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Scarlett
“Good morning, Heart-Jammies,” a rough voice whispers in my ear.
I feel him shift against me before I realize where I am—right next to Brendan Marco.
I fell asleep beside him after he drifted off.
It felt right, snuggled up against him, that I never bothered moving to the sofa bed. So I’ve been here all night, wrapped in his arms and listening to his breathing—which,thank God,is so much better than last night.
His hand lightly strokes my shoulder, trailing up my neck as goose bumps rush down my body.
“Good morning.” I make a point not to move. He’s warm and solid next to me, and I know the moment I step out of this bed, last night’s unfinished conversation will be waiting for me.
A large part of me wants to avoid it entirely. It could have just been a very sick man hallucinating about a future that doesn’t really exist.
“I can’t believe you stayed all night.” His voice rumbles against my cheek where it’s pressed to his sternum.
“You asked me to stay.” My fingers brush across his chest. “Is that okay?”
He shifts, looking down at me with those impossibly dark eyes. “Perfect, actually.”
I sit up slowly, putting a few inches of space between us as I prop myself on my elbow. “How do you feel?”
“Like a whole new man.” He squeezes his eyes shut, like he’s trying to clear the cobwebs from his mind. “I’m curious though, what else did I say last night?”
“You don’t remember?”
“Oh, I remember.” His eyes are full of amusement, and something about that look makes me pause. “I just want to see if you do.”
“Well, you told me you loved me,” I say with a shy smile. “And that the tattoo was for me.”
“Is that so?” He’s watching me carefully now, not letting me get out of this conversation. “What else?”
“And you want to talk about our future, when you’re feeling better.”
He sits up fully now, forcing me to sit up too. “Well, I’m better now,” he confirms, putting his arms out. “So let’s talk.”
I lift my eyebrows. “Right now?”
“Now is as good a time as any. I need to know what you were thinking when I said those words.” He brushes a strand of hair away from my face. “Because I noticed you didn’t say them back.”