I hold up my palms. “In all fairness to me, I was heavily jetlagged, and you were dressed like you were off to explore the Antarctic.”

Delaney snorts. “That’s exactly what I said to Pania when I got back to the diner.”

“I can still make you laugh. That gives me hope there’s something between us.”

She places her hand on my chest. “There’ll always be something between us. We made Amelia, didn’t we?”

I take a deep breath. “I want another chance, Delaney. With you.”

She blinks rapidly as if she’s fighting back tears. “Are you really sure? I don’t know if I fit into your world.”

“You were my world. I want that again.”

“Josh,” she whispers.

I kiss her. Soft and slow at the start, but I claim her mouth with mine with an intensity that builds to a crescendo as she opens up to me.

There’s no way I ever want her to leave my life again. This time, I’m playing for keeps.

The past falls away, and all we’re left with is the here and now. We’re no longer the teenagers who fell in love—we’re the adults who never got to indulge in it.

She lets out a soft moan against my mouth, which wakes a part of me that I thought long dead.

As the kiss ends, I press my forehead to hers, and close my eyes.

It’s been so long since I’ve been this content.

Her blue eyes drink me in as I pull back.

“I’m here for a couple more months. If it’s okay with you, I want to spend some time with Amelia and with you. And some alone, adult time with you while we get to know each other again,” I say.

It seems like we sit in the silence forever. She seems to be taking it all in, and I know it must be overwhelming. But this is Delaney, the girl I never stopped thinking about. My one who got away.

Finally, she nods. “I’d like that. But there’s something you should know before we spend any more time together.”

“What is it?”

“I’m not the girl you met six years ago. So much of me has changed. Both mentally and physically.”

“You’ve been raising our daughter alone. I’m sure that’s been tough at times.”

She licks her lips. “I’m blessed with good friends.” For a moment, she pauses again. “I gained a lot of weight when I was pregnant. And I’ve never been able to get rid of it. I have stretchmarks. And I’m pretty sure I have stretchmarks on my stretchmarks. My body’s so different to when we were together. I don’t have that flat, tanned stomach anymore.”

I slip my arm around her shoulders. “Are you telling me you’re self-conscious?”