We finally pull apart for some air, and Lukas releases a shaky breath. “You’re it for me, Autumn. As much as I’m scared of falling in love and failing like my mother, I’d rather get my heart crushed at your hand than spend a day living without you. Throughout my ride from St. Peppers to Cherrywood, I was telling myself and the universe that I’d give up everything to have more days with you at this inn. Days when I wake up with your smiling face next to me. Days when I kiss you goodnight and then sleep with you wrapped around me.”

“Lukas!” I say his name in a broken voice as my bottom lip wobbles. He wipes my tears with the pad of his thumb.

“If you’re willing to accept me knowing my past, if you’d go to such lengths and fight for me, I’ll spend every minute of my life showing you I’m nothing like the man whose blood runs through my body.”

I rest my hand on his pounding heart. “You’re the one for me, Lukas. The one who’s bigger than any promise. The one who not only loves me but also believes in me more than anyone else. I don’t care about the blood, but you’ve inherited this heart from the woman who knew how to love unconditionally.”

His eyes widen as if he had never thought about it, and then in a flash, he pulls me closer to his chest. “How do you do that?” he whispers, hiding his face in my neck. “You make me feel proud of my life, which has never happened. All my life, I’ve been trying to prove to everyone that I’m good, that I’m more than what made me, and then you come along. You give me so much love and unbridled affection, as if I’m the most precious thing you own. And I feel…enough.”

“You’re not just the most precious thing, Lukas. You are my everything. You’re as important to me as the next ray of sunlight, as the next breath, as food, as water. I don’t just want you. I need you.”

He takes me in his arms and strides toward the inn’s main building.

When I see he’s heading toward our suite instead of the dining hall, where everyone’s waiting for us, I whisper, “Lukas, everyone’s waiting.”

“I’ve waited longer. They’ll live without us for another minute, but I can’t live without you for another second.”

My legs wrap tighter around him, and a giggle shoots through me. “Are you saying we’ll be done in a minute? I think you’re undermining your talent.” I love being this carefree with him.

“Fuck. I forgot what a brat you can be.” He smacks my ass before throwing me onto the bed.