Chapter Thirty-Four

Stephanie

I’m not really sure how we got back to my room. The fight through the surging crowd, dodging thrown panties, the ride to the hotel—it’s all a dreamlike haze.

Now here we are. Though we couldn’t keep our hands off each other in the backseat of the limo which we thankfully rode in alone, we’re now standing five feet from each other.

“We should probably talk.” Alfie strides to the table in the corner of the room. “We have so much to hash out. I have so many apologies to ma—”

“We can talk if you want, but I don’t want to hear one more apology.”

He tips his head in question, which is almost comical with those huge horns of his tipping almost horizontal.

“There are probably over a hundred apologies in your text stream. If that wasn’t enough, ‘Wandering Minotaur,’ was quite a statement. I think that speaks eloquently enough for behavior that was performed before you met me.”

I spear him with a serious stare. The longer our gazes connect, the more certain I am that I fully accept his apology down to my very soul. I’ve hung onto my anger long enough. The Alfie I know hasn’t just talked the talk since the moment we met, but he’s walked the walk. What else do I need?

“One more time, let me—”

“I’ll tell you what. Let’s get a picture made with the words to ‘Wandering Minotaur’ on it. I’ll be able to reread them whenever I want. You’ve done enough.”

“You amaze me,” he says on a relieved exhale as he strides to me.

He rips my hair tie out of my hair and slides his fingers through my strands.

“God. I missed this. Missed you.”

Stroking his velvet muzzle up the column of my throat, he inhales deeply. This isn’t foreplay. It’s not for my pleasure. He’s breathing me in, reconnecting through sight and touch and scent.

Mirroring him, I enjoy the woodsy smell of him as I grip his chestnut ruff, then palm his chest, reminding the deepest parts of my brain that this is Alfie, my male, the guy I love. I guess I should say the words. We’ve shared a bed and bodily fluids, but I was never bold enough to declare them out loud.

“I love you.” He beat me to it, his voice a rough rasp, full of passion. “I should have told you months ago, Steph. I love you as…” His pause means only one thing. His songwriter’s brain is going to come up with something amazing. “I love you as endlessly as a winding river, as brilliantly as the colors of the rainbow after a rain, as full of magic as fireflies dancing on a warm summer eve.”

His eyes are shining brightly, the copper glinting in the low light trickling in through the window. “And faithful, Steph. I love you as faithfully as the north star, as night follows day, as spring follows winter.”

I thought I was feeling certain, settled in my belief that I could trust this male who declared his love in front of a concert hall full of strangers. But there’s something about his last statement that unlocks one more wall surrounding my heart. One I hadn’t even known was there.

Though I want to rip off his clothes and pull him to bed, it strikes me that I didn’t say it back… and there’s one more thing left unsaid.

“I’m your biggest fan and most ardent supporter. All that and I love you. Love you so much. I just wish I could say it as eloquently as you.” I reach to cup his cheek with all the tenderness I can muster. “So, so much.”

Looping my hands behind his neck, I pull him down for a kiss. Not one filled with passion. That will come later. This is full of sweet tenderness that I hope speaks volumes.

“Perfect, Steph. That was eloquent, my love.”

“I apologize too.” His eyes widen at my statement. Clearly, he wasn’t expecting that. “I’ve been hardhearted and bitchy. It would have been better if we’d had a conversation, if I’d let you explain. I surprised myself at how long I could hold a grudge. I promise I’ll never do that again. In the future, we’ll talk things out.”

“Apology accepted.” He grips my hand more gently than I would have thought possible and brings it to his lips, kissing each knuckle, then the center of my palm. “Is it too soon to lift you up, toss you on the bed, and make love to you?” He lifts a shaggy brow, then stands still, awaiting my answer.

“What took you so long to ask?”