Page 111 of Cruel Proposal
My heart seizes in my chest. "What are you going to do?"
"Find a body and bury it, obviously." Aiden clears his throat. "Look, I don't like that you're with him, but I can't keep putting myself in your path anymore and telling you what to do."
Sarcasm drips from my tone as I get up and start pacing. "Oh, so you knew you were doing that? My entire life I've felt like I need to live up to what you want me to be, and I don't think I'm ever going to be that person. I don't know how I could be when the things I want are so different from what you do."
"Summer, you never had to be someone else, and I know I didn't make it seem that way, but I want you to do what makes you happy."
"Even if that means I move in with Noah and spend the rest of my life hiding from that bullshit?"
"How much hiding is it going to be really when you're going to be one of the most sought-after lawyers ever?" His tone is light and happy, though there's a hint of sadness underneath. "You know, letting go of the others was easier."
"Please, we've never been that close." I pace over to the window, looking out at the yard below as Noah starts to rake up some branches and twigs. "Did you really help him fake his death and create a new identity? Is this real? Are we really going to be safe?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
The question hangs between us for a long time, soft sounds of people moving around on the other end of the call, but nobody speaks.
Finally, Aiden sighs again. "I wouldn't be able to give you up for anyone who doesn't deserve you, and while I don't like Noah and there's a lot of bad blood between our families, I know he's going to keep you safe and you're never going to want for anything. So,if that means I have to put this issue between us to bed and help him hide so you can be happy, then I'm going to do it."
"What do the others think?"
"Don't worry about what they think."
I lean against the wall, watching Noah, the possibilities of our future starting to dance in front of me. "Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Live your life."
We speak for a few more minutes, talking about Zoe and the baby, before the call ends and I leave my phone on the counter.
I wander through the house, taking in the hardwood floors and the white walls, everything primed and ready to become the home of our dreams.
As I step outside, Noah looks up from the stack of branches he's making near the fire pit. "Everything go okay?"
"Yeah, better than I thought it would."
"Well, then, we should probably go out front to meet the moving truck." Noah grins and dusts off his hands on his jeans.
I stare at him for a moment, trying to process what he just said to me.
His smile only stretches wider. "I didn't ask Téa to help me for nothing. Your things should be arriving in the next ten minutes or so."
I follow him around the side of the house to the front, shaking my head. "You arranged for all of my things to be packed up and shipped here?"
"Yeah." He nods, leaning back against the garage door.
"You knew I was going to stay?"
He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close. "You love me. And I love you. And I knew that one way or another, you were going to want to be with me."
I put my hands on his shoulders, smiling up at him. "Cocky. Aren't you worried about what's going to happen in the future?"
"You mean all the comments you're going to have to deal with about being with me? Or the worry that someone is going to find out I'm still alive? Or the age gap meaning I'm going to be dead before you?"
"And a thousand other things."
His hands tighten on my waist as he pulls me flush against him. "No. I look forward to a lifetime of surprises with you, and some of them are going to be good, and some of them are going to be bad."
