I wheeled around in time to see him skidding to a halt, almost slamming into me. He stopped himself just in time.
I was screaming his name inside my head, but when the word formed on my tongue, it was a pathetic thing, huffed out with the last of my breath. ‘Luca?’
Luca was standing right across from me, our footsteps side by side in the snow-tipped pavement behind him. His black hair was mussed across his forehead, his bright eyes shining in the darkness. We reached for each other at the same time. I tugged him towards me by the collar of his jacket, and he pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face in my neck.
I rose on to my tiptoes to get closer to him, pressing my cheek against his, as relief burst me open and I sobbed so hard my body shook. He was alive. He was here. He was here.
‘I want this life.’ Luca’s words hummed against my skin, his tears sliding against my cheeks. I could feel him shaking. ‘I want possibility.’
I clutched him harder, feeling the dull roar of his heartbeat against my own. ‘I thought you were dead,’ I said. ‘You’re supposed to be dead.’
He pulled back from me, his hands coming to my face, his thumbs wiping the tears from underneath my eyes. His laugh was shaky, his words wobbly. ‘Gee, thanks.’ He ignored his own tears. They glistened against his skin.
‘The yacht party,’ I said, trying to explain. ‘I thought—’
He shook his head, his words tumbling out in short breaths. ‘I walked away,’ he said. ‘I walked away, Sophie.’
I was crying so hard all I could do was nod until my neck hurt. ‘I’ve been driving all day to get to you. I’ve been driving for fifteen hours,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t take any chances. I couldn’t lead them to you. I rented a car, and broke every speed limit in the country. And then I got here, and I didn’t know what to do, whether you would be asleep, whether you were even still here, so I thought I would wait until the morning. And then you came out and you got scared and I thought I would have to chase you all the way to Denver because damn if you aren’t abnormally fast, Sophie!’
My laugh was just as shaky as his, the tears still streaming down my face. I pushed the words out, garbled and half-formed. ‘I was awake. I couldn’t bear to sleep. The yacht party, Luca. There’s been casualties. A lot …’
‘I know,’ he said, his face crumpling. ‘I was listening to it on the radio.’
‘Do you know who … ?’
He shook his head, heaved a breath. ‘Not yet.’ He shut his eyes, tight, and when he opened them, they were clear again. ‘I made my choice, Sophie. I made my choice.’
I pressed my palm against his heart. ‘The choice to live.’
‘And I’ll live with the consequences. All that I’ve lost.’
‘All that you’ll gain,’ I whispered, raising my chin so I could meet his eyes. ‘I’m here for you. Whatever happens, I’m here.’
He ran his hands up and down my arms, warming my skin. He was mired in grief; it was etched across the planes of his face. I could feel it between us. But there was something else there too – clear and bright and bold. It was shining in his eyes. Purpose, rightness.
‘It’s over,’ he said. ‘It’s over, Sophie. There is nothing more we can do.’
‘How did you know where I was?’ I asked, suddenly struck by the impossibility of it.
‘Millie,’ he said, the intensity in his expression flickering into a small smile. ‘She made me promise that I wouldn’t go back if I came here. That neither of us would. She made me swear it was for real.’
‘She gave you the address.’ And she hadn’t said anything. Maybe she was afraid he wouldn’t come.
‘Not without a lengthy interrogation,’ he said.
‘She must have been sure of you.’
Luca pressed his forehead against mine. ‘I’ve never been so sure of anything.’
My fingers were curled inside his sweater, clutching at his chest, pulling him closer, closer. ‘My head is spinning,’ I said.
Luca pulled back so he could look me in the eyes. ‘I couldn’t do it, Sophie. I couldn’t do it, knowing there was another life for me out here with you. I saw what Millie did for you, how she waded into the darkness and pulled you out, and you went because you love her, because you owe yourself a decent life, and the truth is I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. You’re the last good thing in my life – all the hope and joy for a future that I actually want, and when I watched you leave that day, it felt like my heart was splitting in two. I was stuck, balancing on the brink of hell, and then you tumbled into my life and for the first time, I saw the possibility of a life outside those walls. A life with you. A life worth living.’ He inhaled sharply, coming closer until our noses were touching. ‘And once I knew that, I couldn’t let go of it. I’ll go anywhere for you, Sophie. I want to be the person you see when you look at me.’
‘That’s who you are,’ I said, knowing in my heart that it was true.
He pressed his lips against mine. That feeling, familiar and strong, came over me again.
‘When I’m with you, it feels like coming home,’ he said. ‘I feel like I finally belong somewhere. You’re my somewhere, Sophie.’
I pressed his hand against my heart so he could feel it racing beneath his fingertips. ‘I’m going to go into cardiac arrest if you’re not careful.’
His laugh was low and breathy. He slid his hand into my hair, his thumb caressing my cheek as I smiled against it. ‘Just imagine how I feel every time you smile at me.’
I stood in the heat of his gaze and let myself burn. ‘So, what now, Luca?’
‘We’ll have to lie low for a while, until the dust settles, until we’re safe to move on.’ He tipped my chin up with his index finger, a slow smile tugging at his lips. ‘But we’ll figure it out. Whatever happens, it will be an adventure.’
‘Can we lie low in Disneyland?’
Luca tried to force a frown, but his lips were still curving. ‘Trust you to lower the severity of the situation.’
‘I’m trying to be helpful,’ I pointed out.
‘Why don’t you leave the planning to me? I’m ridiculously intelligent, remember.’
I tapped my chin. ‘But I don’t respect your authority, remember?’
He grinned. ‘That’s why I love you so much.’
‘Because I don’t respect you?’
‘Because you infuriate me,’ he said, tapping my nose.
‘And I love you,’ I said, brushing my lips against his. ‘Because you’re so easy to infuriate.’
‘Mmm,’ he murmured, his mouth against mine.
‘Come with me.’ I dragged him back towards the house. I pulled out my phone and composed a quick text to Millie as we made our way back through the darkness.
Got your gift. He’s a little tired and unkempt, but I think I’ll keep him.
Her response was lightning fast.
Glorious news. Enjoy your lover, but don’t forget who your soulmate is ?
Never ?