my own for a while. I have my apartment, a new job—” She puts up her hand when she notices him about to argue. “I know I don’t need either of them if I’m going to be with you...and you.” Her gaze travels my way, but I don’t argue with her. Giving her a gentle smile, I squeeze her hand.
“We know you do. But we can still make this work,” I say.
Nash looks nervous, breathing heavily with his hooded eyes focused on her. There’s not a doubt in my mind he’s afraid of losing her—and me—because neither of us need him, not in that way. So, I ease his comfort.
“Just because we’re not living on Del Rey with you, doesn’t mean we’re not with you.”
“I’m in this one-hundred percent,” Hanna adds.
“So am I.” My opposite hand reaches for him, and our fingers meet, latching onto each other like they were meant to.
“One-hundred percent,” he says.
“Let’s go back to bed,” Hanna whispers after a moment, but Nash is still frozen like stone, looking deep in thought.
“I’m going to move to the mainland.” His words settle like a heavy fog, silencing us all for a moment. Hanna and I glance at each other, and I know she’s thinking the same thing I am. This is big.
Nash has lived on that island for almost his entire life. It was the physical barrier between him and the rest of the world, and it was the setting for every moment of trauma he’s experienced. Him wanting to leave it is a sign he’s ready to make real changes.
“Are you sure?” she says in a low whisper. She looks hopeful, and I admit I am too.
“Yeah. Can I stay with you?” he asks her and her eyebrows nearly hit her hairline.
“You want to move from your mansion on an island to my shitty apartment?”
“I really do.” There’s not a hint of humor or sarcasm in his expression, and I have to bite back a smile that wants to reach my ears.
“Nash…”
“If we’re going to do this, I want it to be real. Living on Del Rey is like living in a fantasy. I want the two of you to be my life, not a dream.”
Tears brim in Hanna’s eyes as she stares at him. “Okay,” she manages to mumble.
“Okay,” I echo.
“Are you moving in with me too?” she asks with a laugh as a tear rolls down her cheeks.
With a heavy chuckle, I reach over and wipe it from her face. “I’m going to be really fucking jealous if you two get to live together without me. One-hundred percent, remember?”
The table breaks out in laughter, the three of us high on this future we’re building. And although I have no plans to sell my apartment for now, I love the vision of the three of us living perfectly ordinary lives together.
“Okay, can we please go back to bed now?” she asks.
“Fuck yes,” he answers quickly as he jumps from his seat and pulls her into his arms. She wraps her legs around him, and he carries her toward the bedroom.
Watching them together, I realize there are no guarantees, and we have no way of knowing if this will work forever. But if things had never fallen apart between Nash and me in Amsterdam, we never would have found her, and I believe it all happened for a reason.
Sometimes things have to be broken before they can be truly whole again.
Epilogue
Amsterdam
After a long day of walking around the city, I sleep so deeply, wrapped in warmth with hands and legs and bodies in my space, I don’t dream a thing. And when I peel my eyes open in the morning, Ellis is spooning me, his arm draped over my waist.
The first thing I feel is his morning wood pressed snugly between the cheeks of my ass, and on instinct, I shift my hips back. A warm thrill shoots through my body and my already stiff cock twitches with anticipation.
Ellis groans, grinding against me. Then his lips find the lobe of my ear, and he bites down, making me even harder.
Fuck, I love this. We used to start so many days this way in Amsterdam before and they were so fucking wonderful I don’t know how I went so long without being fucked first thing in the morning.
“I wonder if we can do it without waking her up,” he whispers as I feel the warm tip of him at my entrance. My hands fumble for the lube on