We pull up to Jaxon’s driveway and hop off the bike in front of the two-story house that once belonged to his parents. I swallow back the nerves that come with the memory of the last time I stood at the end of this driveway, so angry at Jaxon for turning down an amazing opportunity just to stay in this town with me. But just as it always has, that memory feels broken, like pieces of it are missing and there’s more to the reason for my anger than I could ever remember.
I look over at Jaxon. He’s giving me a crooked smile that fills my heart with love. Those damn flutters erupt in my chest again, completely obliterating any negative memory I have and replacing it with the good. So much good.
He takes my hand and tugs me toward him. His finger cups my chin as he stares down at me with my favorite storm, the kind I want to experience rather than run from. The difference once confused me, but not anymore.
“Hey.” His voice reaches the deepest parts of me, like it’s the bass of my body, making me vibrate deeply in response. “Let me impress you with my newfound culinary skills, and then I’ll take you home. I promise I won’t kidnap you tonight.”
“You won’t?” I ask, my pout uncontained, and Jax laughs.
He shakes his head, his lips brushing mine. “Not tonight, babe. Soon. I promise. But not tonight. I have a business thing in Asheville tomorrow and I have to get up early, but I’m not ready to take you home yet.” He moves my hand to his chest and dips to kiss me.
I smile, biting the inside of my mouth to keep from grinning like an idiot. “It kind of sounds like you just asked me out on a date. I don’t think we ever went on one of those.”
He groans and rolls his eyes. “That was all you, and you know it.”
It’s true. It was my fear of getting caught together by someone who would tell my father. My father, who had already threatened Jaxon with a rifle after he caught Jaxon outside my window early in the fall. My father, who I knew had mental issues I didn’t want to aggravate, even if I never understood them completely. My father, who I loved.
“So, you know how to cook now?” I say, fighting against the dark thoughts that have begun to creep in.
He presses his lips to mine. “Come inside and find out.”
I would have said yes even if he told me he was feeding me animal crackers.
I follow him through the front door, stopping in my tracks as soon as I’ve crossed the threshold. Everything about the house is different than I remember.
Smiling at my surprise, he explains, “I renovated the place after my parents moved out. I had some extra money from the trust they set up for me for school.” He gives me a side-eye that I know means his parents were not happy about him not going to school. That was always the plan. Jaxon would learn the family business, go to school to have a fallback plan, and then take over the business with all the right certifications. I don’t let on that I know more than he’s telling me—that he and his parents had a falling out that led to them leaving for good.
Jaxon takes me through the house so I can see the extent of the updates. Every room was touched in some way. The basement, which used to be his parent’s theater room, is now a game room. The entire main floor has been updated with new floors, built-in cabinets, and a gourmet kitchen.
He takes me down the hall, skipping past the bathroom and the beautiful French doors leading to the den. We’re standing in front of his bedroom at the end of the hall—or at least what used to be his bedroom. When he opens the door, I gasp.
The entire room is floor-to-ceiling art. Familiar canvases my brush once painted. My art.
My throat tightens, and I feel pinpricks in the back of my eyes as I try to control the emotion coursing through my body. I turn to Jaxon, my eyes officially watering, leaking tears of shock. “H-how?”
Every single canvas is one I thought I lost. Every single painting is one I painted with Jaxon as we wandered the woods, overlooking the waterfalls or exploring an abandoned cabin. For hours, we’d just paint. And then my father destroyed them all. Or so he said.
A strong arm wraps around my middle as his chin drops to the top of my head. I’m speechless. He waits, holding me as I try to regain my composure.
And then the tears fall. “He said he destroyed them all.”
Jaxon squeezes my middle again. “He didn’t destroy anything.” He says the words through gritted teeth. “They were under your back porch, wrapped up in blankets. Lacey pokes around a lot under there, and I was curious one day and pulled them out. I only took them to keep them safe. They’re yours, of course. This room—it’s yours, Aurora.”
I turn, my face falling into his chest as more tears build behind my eyes. I was not expecting this. Not at all. Seeing them again brings back one of the worst memories I ever kept. After my father took them, I experienced a pain I would never forget and hoped I would never feel again. A sob of sadness, happiness, and regret bubbles up in my throat and escapes before I can stop it. If there were anything Jaxon could do or say to show me he still feels a single thing for me, this is it.
My cheeks are streaked with tears and my chin quivers, but I don’t care. I stand on my tip-toes to take his mouth with mine and give him everything I can possibly give in this moment. It’s not enough. There will never be an equivalent to his love for me, but I will forever try.
Our mouths part as another sob leaves my throat.
“Babe, hey. Look at me,” he says gently.
I peer up, my eyes wet and blurring my vision. I wipe them away and peer up again.
“You’ve always been with me, no matter what,” he says. “This is the only proof I can give you. I brought you here to remind you of everything you’ve accomplished. You never needed permission to have passion. To do anything you ever wanted. We fought a lot because of it, because you never understood why I couldn’t leave you to go overseas. To travel the world. You never understood.” He leans in, kissing me softly and pulling away far too fast. “There’s a reason. A reason you wouldn’t listen to then, but I hope you do now. Aurora, there was no way in hell any of those experiences would have meant anything without you by my side.”
Tears fill my eyes again, and I wipe them away with the back of my hand. “I thought you’d resent me if I was the reason you didn’t go.” Jaxon appreciates honesty, so I’ll give it. “I thought you’d be waiting around for me and continue to fight with your parents about the property and hate me for it all. Jax, I was afraid that you staying would tear us apart, but I see now you only wanted to stay to keep us together. I’m sorry. Call me young and naïve, I guess.”
Jaxon nods. “I know. I get it. And you know what? We could have worked through it, but things got…” He shakes his head, refusing to finish his truth, but I already know. “Timing was not on our side.”
I swallow, understanding completely. “My father ruined it.”
“Maybe,” he says with a sigh. “But you were mad at me when you ran off into the woods that night. So I blame me for that, not your father.”
“Jax, no.” My heart squeezes, realizing that all this time, all the regret I feel, Jaxon has felt the exact same thing.
“And then you were upset that I betrayed your trust by confessing the truth to the cops and that courtroom,” he continues. “But you know what? It’s something I will never regret. I don’t think I could have ever lived with myself if I hadn’t spoken up. Whether your father did what he was accused of or not, what he did to you—to me—was unforgivable. Your father held a gun to my head, Aurora. He was unpredictable and hostile. Whether he meant it or not, he did and said what he did. That may have been something you wanted to keep to yourself, but it was for the wrong reasons. I wouldn’t change a thing. And I’m sorry for how shitty that makes our situation.”
Fuck.
“Okay,” I say, accepting all the feelings, thoughts, and actions I once questioned. “I’m here now.”
“Are you? Are you here to stay, Aurora? Because if you’re not, tell me now.”
Why does it feel like he’s giving me an ultimatum? I hate that. He needs to understand that my being back isn’t about him. And as much as I love that we’ve reconnected, I’m not sure if here is the best place for me to be in the end.
“I came here without a plan. I didn’t even think you would still be here. I just—”
Jaxon’s eyes bore into mine, both love and hate in his expression. I ruined us. He ruined us. There’s no going back; there’s only forgiveness.
“You just what?”
My fingers dig into his sides. “I just wanted to feel whole again. I thought it was this place that made me feel whole, but now I’m starting to realize it was you. I might not want to stay here, Jax, but I know I don’t want to be away from you.”
His lips crush mine, and then I’m in his arms. I wrap my legs around his waist, and he carries me from the room filled with my past, down the hall to the kitchen, and toward our future.