His hand stilled slightly in my hair.
“I saw your face across the room,” I continued. “And I almost walked away anyway.”
Pain flickered through his eyes.
“I thought if I burned myself out of the picture, they’d lose leverage and you’d be safe.”
“You’re not leverage,” he countered.
“I am to them.”
“Then we stop playing by their script.”
I swallowed. “You make that sound simple.”
“It’s not simple.” His fingers brushed along my temple as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “It’s necessary.”
The wind pushed me closer to him, and this time I didn’t resist.
The shuttered studio loomed behind us, dark and waiting. The ocean stretched infinite ahead.
“I don’t want to disappear anymore,” I breathed.
“Then don’t.”
“I don’t want to be afraid every time Elise ambushes me.”
“Then we make them afraid of exposure.”
A spark ignited low in my chest. My mother had gathered proof in silence. I had spent a year away from Luke surviving quietly. Maybe silence had run its course.
“Okay, let’s do this.” I smiled, despite the worry I still had.
His gaze held mine. “Yes.”
The wind whipped stronger, carrying salt against my lips. Fear still lingered, threading through every plan we built. But it no longer felt paralyzing. It felt directional.
The tide surged forward again, water finally licking at our toes. I gasped at the cold and instinctively leaned into him.
He laughed under his breath, warmth breaking through tension. “Still dramatic,” he teased gently.
“Shut up.”
He drew me fully into his chest then, one arm wrapping around my waist, the other cradling the back of my head.
We simply stood there—the moon overhead, waves at our feet, breath mingling in the chilled air.
“This is real now,” I whispered. I loved that we didn’t have to hide anymore—that it was finally our time.
“It always was.”
“No,” I corrected quietly. “Now everyone knows.” Or they would very soon.
His gaze softened, intensity shifting from battle-ready to something deeper. “Good.”
He lowered his forehead to mine, noses brushing, breath warm against my skin.
“They think this will break us,” he breathed.