I stay completely still as she walks my way, those rounded hips swaying. God, I love the way she walks. I love the way the sun gilds her skin golden brown. I love the way her butterscotch eyes always seem to see right through me. I love . . .

“Hey,” she says, stopping before me.

I scramble to my feet, then regret it because I’m looming. She doesn’t back away, though, but tilts her head back and stares at me as though she’s seeing me anew. Her slim hands cup the rough scruff of my cheeks, and she kisses me, gentle explorations of her mouth. I draw in a sharp breath before letting it out slowly as I stroke the delicate line of her jaw, the warm curve of her neck.

Delilah touches me as though I might soon fade away. She kisses the bridge of my nose, the skin at the edges of my eyes. I rest my forehead against her, my breathing growing deeper, faster. I brush my lips against her with every other kiss she places upon my skin because I need that contact, however brief.

“Delilah,” I whisper, my thumbs caressing paths over her temples. “All the things I’ve said—”

“Are in the past.” Her lips press to my cheek. “I wish I was there. I wish I had known.”

“You were there. You were always with me.” She has to understand this. I sit down and pull her onto my lap. “That’s what kills me, Tot. When I thought of you, it drove me on. I didn’t feel alone. You say I’m the voice in your head, telling you what you aren’t. I want to be the voice telling you all the things that you are. Talented and funny and fearless as hell.”

It’s then that I notice she’s wearing the necklace. I trace the chain, stopping at a glinting diamond. “That you are beautiful to me in the way of stars.”

“Macon . . .” Her fingers comb through my hair. “I shouldn’t admit this, but even when you were at your worst, when I’d be dreaming of tarring and feathering you and leaving your carcass out for the birds to pick over”—I laugh at that—“I admired your arrogance.”

“Did you?”

As if to steady me, she rests her palm on my chest, surely feeling the hard beat of my heart. “I used to channel that arrogance. If I ever became intimidated or felt less than, I used to think, ‘What would Macon Saint do?’”

My smile grows wide, and she returns it.

“So you see. It wasn’t all bad. You were there with me, too, giving me strength, forcing me to be better than I thought I could.” Her touch is warm and steady along my jaw. “I made a deal to stay here, expecting the worst, but I found the best man I’ve ever known.”