day to cook,” I said, forcing a lighthearted grin before hiding my ugly-cry face. “Go on, get out of here. I’ll be up in a little bit.”
Hounds of hell. I was a mess.
Once they’d left, I went into the back and washed my face in the sink. I had to pick myself up, refocus my priorities. Elise was doing well with her studies, both at school and with Kole. I needed to make sure I was on top of my part of getting her into the Dawn Academy. That was what I needed to focus on.
I splashed my face again with some cold water and heard the front door open. Crap, I’d forgotten to lock the door after they’d left. I took one step to go back to the front to tell whoever had come in that we were closed when an unmistakable scent caught my nose. An automatic shiver went through my whole body. Florals, incense, and him…
I raced out to the front, my heart racing like crazy. He was there, standing in the entrance, and he looked at me and said, “Are you open?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “No, we’re closed. I’m afraid you’re trespassing, sir.”
He adjusted his glasses and stepped back towards the door. “Oh, dear.”
“Kole, I’m kidding.”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d be okay with me being here,” he said quietly.
I’d thought I wouldn’t be okay seeing him again so soon, but despite the pain I felt not being able to take him into my arms, I was happy. I’d wanted to see him so badly.
“I’ve been thinking about you,” I said. “You okay?”
“Can we talk?”
“Of course. Yeah, let me make some tea?”
“No,” he said, stepping forward. “Let’s talk now. Right now. Please?”
“Okay… Sure.”
I flipped two chairs off a table and gestured for him to sit. It’d been less than a week since I’d seen him, but he looked more tired, like he’d lost some of his glow. Maybe I looked the same way.
“Markos,” he said, “I’m going to close the Moonstar Dating Agency and stop reading.”
“What? Are you serious? Why?”
“Don’t worry,” he said with a small smile. “Elise still has her teacher. I’m going to dedicate my time to making sure she gets into the Academy. And I believe she’s more than capable of receiving a full scholarship at the pace she’s going.”
“But why are you quitting?”
He clenched his hand into a fist and held it against his chest like he was in pain. I wanted to reach out and take his hand, to comfort him.
“Because… because I can’t go back. I don’t want to.” He looked up at me, his eyes clear and bright. “My divination career was my life and everything I wanted, but something changed. I met you. I learned what it meant to be in love with someone, and I realized that how I felt with you became so much more important than how I feel about being an agent. I want to be with you. I want us to be together. I’m ready to give up my spectral sight if that’s what it takes.”
“Kole… are you sure? You worked your whole life to get where you are. I don’t want to take that away from you.”
“Yes, you’re right. I’ve worked my whole life to get me to this point… and I want to continue from here with you as my partner. Because I love you.”
I was overwhelmed with what I was hearing. For a moment, it felt like I was dreaming. I reached out and grabbed Kole’s hand—he was real. He smiled at me, and we stood and hugged each other tightly.
“I love you, too,” I whispered to him.
“Can we be together?” he asked. “Truly together?”
I laughed. “You don’t even need to ask. You’ve always had me.”
His smile widened, and it was like he was glowing. It felt like we were connected through the spectral realm, like our energies were together and bonded. I gently removed his glasses and took a moment to look into his eyes and bask in the reality that he was here with me again and that he wanted us to be together. It seemed too good to be true—but it was true.
I brought my lips to his.
17 Kole
The moment Markos took me back into his arms, I knew for sure that I’d made the right decision. Immediately, I felt all the tension and anguish melt away from my body as I nuzzled into his chest. Oh, the relief to be with him again.
Afterward, we went upstairs