Chapter 166

Theo’s POV

She’s still on my lap, warm and soft and impossibly close, her weight settled over me like she belongs there. And maybe she does. Maybe she always has.

I can’t stop looking at her. Not after what she said.

She didn’t say “I love you,” not exactly, but the shape of it was there. In the way she looked at me when she said she already feels it. In the way her voice softened like she was telling a secret she hadn’t even admitted to herself yet. In the way she didn’t pull away when I held her tighter, or when I kissed her like I meant it. Like I always mean it with her.

I keep seeing it. Playing it back. The curve of her mouth when she said it. The hesitation in her breath. That flicker of fear just before she gave herself away. She’s not reckless with her heart, not anymore. So if she gave me even the idea of