Christmas Griffin - Zoe Chant Page 0,79

in the valley had volunteered to help ferry bags and boxed, but Hardwick had declined. Delphine was glad about that. It meant that this time together started the way it was meant to go on: just them.

She leaned against him, as though she was trying to warm him up and not the other way around. There was no doubt left in her mind that they were mates, and meant to be together—but ‘meant to be together’ in the long run and ‘meant to be together right now’ weren’t necessarily the same thing.

“A whole month,” she said. “I’ve still got the car keys if you decide you need the time actually alone.”

Hardwick stiffened in her arms. “Why would you say that?”

Because—She bit her lip and forced herself not to weave a make-nice story. Hardwick was watching her, a familiar, hard wariness in his eyes. “Because you’re still exhausted and you’re still hurting more than you should when people lie, and I—I don’t know how good I’ll be at not lying. I’ll do my best. But I don’t want to slip up and hurt you.” She raised one hand to rest against his cheek.

He didn’t rush to reassure her. That was reassuring in of itself. He was taking her seriously. And taking his own health seriously.

“You don’t hurt me anymore,” he said, covering her hand with his.

She swallowed. “You don’t have to—”

“Delphine. Do I lie?”

Delphine stared into her mate’s dark eyes. “No, you don’t, but…” Self-consciousness was an itch beneath her skin. “If you’re trying to save my feelings—I know that just being around me gave you a headache, when we first met. You don’t have to… to…”

His steady, loving gaze didn’t change.

“Oh,” she whispered. “You’re not trying to save my feelings. You’re telling the truth.”

“I always will be.” He tightened his fingers around hers and turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand. “You can count on that. I’ll always tell you the truth and right now, and forever, the truth is that you only hurt me when you were afraid. I didn’t see that as fast as I could have. You were afraid of what your family would think, what they’d do, if they knew the truth. You built this whole idea of yourself around those lies, and that was what hurt me. But that’s in the past now.” He kissed each of her fingers, one by one. “This month isn’t just about me. I want you to have a chance to learn who you can be, too. Underneath all the stories you told yourself. And figuring that out won’t be lying. It’ll be discovering your truth.”

Tears filled her eyes. He understood her? He understood her, and still wanted her around?

Hardwick pulled her closer and wiped the corner of her eye where a tear threatened to spill out. “We’re in this together, Delphine. I’m not going to push you away.”

To her horror, she sniffed. “Oh, God,” she muttered, pulling away to wipe her eyes. He didn’t let her, and she stayed safe in his arms as he kissed her tears away. “You wouldn’t have to push me away. I’d go by myself.”

“I know. But I don’t want that. I don’t want you to ever think you have to leave for my own good.” He rested his forehead against hers. “You’re the best thing in my life, Delphine. Where you go, I go.”

His words echoed in her mind. She didn’t know whether she wanted to capture them under glass and keep them safe and perfect forever, or let them sink into her memory and know they would pop up by themselves in the future, tiny blessings that would make her day happier.

For the time being, they reminded her of something else that she had barely let herself think about. But if he wanted to stay with her, no matter what…

“I was thinking…”

She hesitated as her mind ran ahead.

Hardwick nudged her. “Go on.”

“What?”

“Whatever it is that you’re thinking.” He rubbed a callused thumb along her arm, just above her elbow. She couldn’t feel the scratch through her sweater, but she wanted to.

That probably wasn’t what he was talking about, though.

“It won’t hurt you if I talk through things without thinking them over first, to make sure they’re actually true?”

“Try me.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. She didn’t want to try him. The whole point of being out here was that nobody tried him, and he got better.

She told him as much, and he laughed, surprised.

“No lies there.” He tucked a