Chapter 15 - Where You Belong
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At ten o'clock, the rain turned into heavy, wet snow that coated the sidewalks outside Ardith House in a glittering slush.
Holly finished her closing duties, hanging her black apron in the staff locker and slipping into her coat.
She pushed open the glass double doors of the restaurant, stepping out onto the covered terrace toward the quiet street.
The air was freezing, but she barely felt the cold as her mind replayed every single word Brennan had ever spoken to her.
Suddenly, a low, familiar huff of breath sounded from the dark corner of the terrace.
Holly stopped dead in her tracks, her breath catching in her throat.
Sitting patiently beside table eleven, wearing a brand-new red harness with polished brass hardware, was Atlas.
The giant mastiff rose to his feet, crossed the wet terra-cotta tiles with slow, majestic dignity, and pushed his enormous head straight into her hands.
Her fingers buried themselves into the soft velvet behind his left ear before her brain could even register the movement.
“You shouldn't be wandering around high-end restaurants without a reservation,” Holly whispered, her voice trembling as tears blurred her vision.
“He doesn't need a reservation,” a deep, familiar voice replied from the shadow of the terrace entrance.
“He owns the building now.”
Brennan stepped out into the warm glow of the terrace heaters, wearing his dark wool coat with the collar turned up against the snow.
He wasn't wearing a tie, his hair was lightly dusted with white snowflakes, and his hands were empty of files, phones, or weapons.
He walked across the terrace with long, deliberate strides until he was standing less than a foot away from her.
Atlas leaned his massive body against Holly’s knees, completing the circle they had formed on this very floor seven days ago.
“I bought the property this afternoon,” Brennan said, his gray eyes searching hers with a vulnerability that took her breath away.
“Because I couldn't bear the thought of another man ever sitting at table eleven watching you walk across the room.”
Holly looked up at him, a tear escaping down her cheek, glittering in the golden restaurant light.
“I don’t want your gratitude, Brennan,” she said, her voice small, honest, and trembling.
“I don’t want you to love me because of what I did for Liam or what I endured on that porch.”
Brennan reached out, both of his large, warm hands gently cradling her face, wiping away the tear with his thumb.
“I stopped thinking about gratitude the second you looked across that table and told me my name was unnecessarily complicated,” he murmured, his voice thick with raw, undisguised adoration.
“I don't love you because you saved my brother’s dog, Holly.”
“I love you because you are the bravest, fiercest, kindest human being this cruel world has ever produced.”
He leaned down, pressing his forehead gently against hers as the winter wind howled against the exterior glass panels.
“I love you because for two years I was a dead man walking through empty rooms, and you brought me back to life with a single smile.”
“I don't want to live another day without you, Holly Lawson.”
“Come home with us.”
“Not to hide, not to be protected, but to be the queen of everything I have built.”
Holly let out a broken, joyous laugh, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to her lips.
The kiss was fierce, warm, and brimming with the promise of a future that neither of them had dared to dream of.
Brennan held her tight against his chest, his arms locking around her waist as if he would never let her go again.
May you like
Beneath their feet, Atlas let out an enormous, deep sigh of pure, unadulterated happiness, thumping his tail against the floorboards of table eleven.
The storm outside raged on against the dark city, but inside the circle of their embrace, the long winter had finally come to an end.
