Chapter 138. No One Else

Jeremy’s POV

The balcony door clicked shut behind us as I closed it, and for a moment I just stood there, holding her. Her breath was warm against my collarbone, her fingers still tangled in my shirt like she didn’t trust I was real. Or maybe she didn’t trust I’d stay.

God.

Having her in my arms again was a feeling I wasn’t prepared for.

I pressed her gently against the doorframe, not meaning to pin her—just needing the closeness, the grounding. She looked up at me with wide, overwhelmed eyes, lips swollen from where I’d kissed her too hard on the balcony.

I almost kissed her again. But then, my gaze caught the cake on the counter for the second time. She didn’t even know how much that had blown up my mind earlier. Even in my absence, when we weren’t in talking terms, she’d remembered my birthday.

Heck, she baked me a cake.

Made by her hands.

In my honor.

In my absence.

I felt my voice drop without even trying. “I’m