Page 78 of All That Glitters

“Us arguing?” I ask with a laugh.

She grins. “Yes. No matter the circumstances, I love when our family is all together.”

Marigold’s expression turns soft at my mom’s words. She looks down at her ice cream, and I can bet she’s holding back those tears of hers again.

“Don’t start crying over there.” I tease her softly. “I might get kicked out.”

“Shut up," she mumbles, and swipes at her face with the sleeves of her cardigan.

“Leave my sensitive little flower alone,” Mom scolds.

Marigold gives me a pointed look of agreement. I mouth the word sensitive and smirk. A flash of heat in her gaze is the only warning I get before she flicks her spoon toward me and splatters ice cream across my face. I gape at her, while she grins.

“Now, you two—” My mom doesn’t get to finish her sentence. I’m out of my chair in seconds. Marigold squeals and half trips out of her seat to run away. I chase her into the living room. She makes an unexpected break for the stairs. I let her have a lead, fine with her leading us somewhere more private.

I make it to the upstairs hallway. Marigold runs into my room, and I have to stick my foot in the door to stop her from shutting and locking it. She giggles as she backs away from me. I shut the door and stalk toward her.

“No!” she squeals as I grab her by her waist and toss her onto the bed.

I tickle her for a few minutes, fending off her flailing limbs while laughing.

“Mercy!” she yells, breathless.

I stop, then move so I can hover over her on the bed. Her chest is heaving, and the light in her eyes makes my breath catch.

“You’ve got a little—” She giggles and swipes at some of the ice cream on my face before licking her thumb.

I shake my head, chuckling. “Obstinate, headstrong girl.”

She laughs again. I haven’t heard her laugh so much in forever. I could listen to it every day for the rest of my life, and it still wouldn’t be enough.

She cites the quote. “Pride and Prejudice. And thank you. I take that as a compliment.”

I stare into her hazel eyes, made brown by the dim shadows of my old bedroom.

“We’re not going to have long up here,” I murmur.

She hums in return, reaching up to wrap her arms around my neck.

“Then we should make the most of it.”

One gentle pull of her hands is all it takes for us to be wrapped up in each other. My thoughts scatter. It’s only us. The warm press of her lips against mine. A graze of teeth. The slip of her tongue. She’s sweet and soft, yet fiery too. A heady combination that sends my pulse into overdrive and makes me crave more.

I pull back, satisfaction curling through me at the sound of her gasping inhale. My lips trail over her jaw and to the spot below her ear. I press a gentle, lingering kiss here.

“Jameson,” she whispers. There’s a tortured quality to the way she says my name. A desperation I cling to like a long-sought-after treasure. It’s a longing that holds up a mirror to my own and makes me feel less alone in the way I yearn for her.

“I love you,” I whisper against her skin.

“I love you, too,” she replies softly.

I think back to when she mentioned falling in love when we first arrived at my parents’ house. Hope unfurls its weatherworn wings in my chest. Perhaps one day soon that hope will win out, and she’ll tell me she feels the same way I do.

Marigold tugs my lips back to hers, and I smile into the fevered kiss. For once, I don’t feel afraid of what’s to come with her. It’s just a matter of waiting. And I’ve done that before.

Chapter thirty-seven

Gifted