Page 110 of Dissonance

“Don’t shut me out again, Lockie,” I whisper, tears burning to be shed. “Whatever this is between us, whatever we’re building, it will only work if we talk.”

Neither of us moves, my eyes falling shut as I continue to run my hands through his hair.

“I love you.”

The words are muffled, spoken into the fabric of my shirt. For a beat, I don’t move, because I know how easy it would be to take that as him talking to her, to keep things where they’ve always been. Safe, separate. But his arms tighten around me, and when I look down, he’s already looking up.

At me. Not the baby.

“So fucking much, Thea.”

More tears threaten, my throat thickening as I stare down at this man, this enormous, careful, devastatingly beautiful man, on his knees in front of me, and I know I’m done for. I think I always have been.

“I love you, too.”

Chapter Forty-Four

Thea

My hand peeks out from the blanket as Lockie gives me a bowl, steam rising into the cool air. It’s simple, a chicken dish I watched him cook before he came out here and lit the fire, handing me blankets and a pillow, telling me to get comfy.

“You’re quiet,” he says after a while, my stomach still unsettled from the last few days.

Placing my half-touched dinner to the side, I turn to face him, mouth dry. It’s ridiculous, really. He told me he loves me, yet here I am, nervous to ask where we go from here.

“How does this work?” I ask, gesturing between us when he frowns. “Practically. You’re Cooper’s bodyguard, and he’s…everywhere. New York, Madrid, Melbourne. Wherever his tours take him, and if he’s not touring, he’s in Taunton Falls recording.” Tugging the blanket tighter around me, I pick at the edge. “My life’s in LA. My company, my family. I’m not asking you to— I’m not saying—” I sigh, shaking my head. “I just need to understand how you see this working.”

He sets his bowl down, leaning forward, eyes serious. “Cooper fired me.”

I blink. “What?”

He smirks. “His way of thinking he’s funny. When I went to see him, it was to tell him I was leaving. He just got there first.”

“He fired you?”

“Technically.”

I press my lips together because this is not the time to laugh. “Okay, what are you going to do?”

“I’ve been thinking about starting something. Security, protection—former military, people I know and trust. Train them up, place them where they’re needed.” He sags back into his chair, long legs stretched out in front of him. “I’ve been doing the research. I know how to do this. And I know the right people.”

“You’d be based in LA,” I whisper.

“I’d be based wherever I needed to be. But, aye, LA makes sense. If that’s where you are.”

If that’s where you are.

I glance away, hiding my smile, my pulse battering an uneven beat in my chest.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask. “I could have helped you think through it.”

“Come here,” he says, reaching over and taking my hand, tugging gently. I stand, letting him pull me until I’m facing him, knees bracketing his thighs, his hands finding my hips as he guides me down. The fire’s warm on my back, but he’s warmer, his thumbs dipping under the hem of my shirt, moving in slow sweeps across my skin. “You had enough on your plate, and I didn’t want to put something half-formed in front of you before I knew what I actually wanted.”

“And you do now?”

“Aye.” He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “Right now, I only want to be with you, with our daughter.”

“But you love your job, and Cooper—”