Page 90 of See It Through
I threw myself at him, hugging him so tight I would have worried about strangulation if my mind had been more present, but Remi just laughed and hugged me back. Because he was crazy, stupid in love with me and wanted to stay.
“Is that a yes?” he asked beside my ear.
“Of course it is.” I rubbed my tear-soaked cheek against his scruffy one. “Yes, stay, Rem. Stay with me.”
“I’m staying. It’s gonna take a lot more than you breaking up with me to get rid of me.”
I sob-laughed and pulled back so I could look at his beautiful face. “Don’t let me break up with you again, all right?”
He gently brushed my hair from my face and looked at me like I was the center of everything…just like he’d said. How had I missed that? “I’ll tie your stubborn little ass down and make you listen. How about that?”
I grinned through watery eyes. “I’m not going to break up with you again, but you can tie me down if you want to.”
“Hannah…” he growled.
We stared at each other for a long moment. Slowly, my smile slipped, and I grew serious. Taking his face in my hands, I held his gaze.
“I’m really sorry for letting you walk away. I’m sorry for not talking to you like I should have. I hate knowing I hurt you, and I promise I won’t do it again.”
He let out a shuddering breath, then turned his head to kiss my palm. “Thank you for saying that, sweetheart. I’m sorry for letting you do it. I should have stayed and fought you.”
“You needed Lily to set you straight.”
He nodded. “I don’t know how she knew to say exactly what I needed to hear, but she did.”
“My grandma is amazing that way.” I lowered my mouth to his, and there, with our lips brushing, I told him, “I love you too, you know.”
“Yeah?” he rasped after a long pause.
“I do.”
“Thank fuck, sweetheart.”
After that, we didn’t do much more than lie on my couch, tangled up in each other, periodically kissing, laughing, whispering sweet nothings. Mostly, we held on, making up for the days I’d pushed him away and he’d let me.
When I closed my eyes, letting exhaustion take me over, his heartbeat beneath my cheek, I was content and safe and grounded. Remington Town was mine, and I didn’t have to let him go.
He wouldn’t allow it.
Chapter Thirty-five
Remington
Sometime during the night,I woke from something other than a nightmare. Hannah and I had fallen asleep on her couch. We were both too long for it—the crick in my neck evidence to that—so I carried her to bed and fell back asleep curled around her. My girl in my arms.
In the morning, I woke up rested for the first time in days. Hannah was still dead to the world, so I sat up and watched her. She lay on her back, her thick chestnut hair cascading over her white pillowcase, lips rosy and pursed. She was a sleeping beauty. I snatched my phone from the bedside table and took a few pictures of her. I couldn’t help myself.
After a while, she started to stir. First, stretching her arms over her head, then rubbing her cheek against her pillow. With a soft gasp, her eyes fluttered open, darting around until they landed on me sitting above her.
“Morning, beautiful,” I said softly.
“It’s a good morning waking up to you,” she replied. “I don’t even mind knowing you were watching me sleep.”
“Good, because I liked it.”
She rolled into me, throwing her arm around my waist. “I hope you slept.”
“I did. Just woke up a few minutes ago.” I slid my fingers through her hair and curled my arm around her shoulder. “You still love me?”