Jared leaned over and kissed me. It was urgent and deep, the way he kissed me before I left him to speak with my mother; as if he were kissing me goodbye forever.

He reluctantly pulled away to look at me. “It was for purely selfish reasons. I wanted to wait so you and I could…so you could get to know me better.”

“You lost me.”

“Remember when I was explaining the Taleh, you mentioned how convenient it was that Gabe protected Jack, and I protected you?”

I nodded. “Yes, you said that angel groups tend to stay in families or those that are connected somehow.” Now that he’d brought it to my attention, it made more sense. “Claire is Ryan’s protector because he’s a friend?”

Jared sighed and shifted nervously beside me. “Claire being Ryan’s protector means he is supposed to be in your life. Permanently.”

I smiled and shook my head. “So what are you saying? That Ryan’s going to be family somehow?” Jared waited and my eyes widened in disbelief. “You think I’m supposed to marry him? Oh, c’mon! That’s ridiculous!”

“That would be the only explanation,” Jared said, his expression grave.

“You’re not serious. There’s no way for you to know that. It could be any number of things.”

“I thought that if you didn’t get to know me first, then you’d want to be with him. He is supposed to be your husband one of these days. I would understand why, armed with that knowledge, you might feel differently. And he’s a good friend to you. And he’s…persistent,” Jared said, his face twisting into an annoyed expression.

I held his face in my hands and looked directly into his eyes. “Quit it. I’m in love with you, Jared. There is no me without you.”

He watched me for a moment. “I’m sorry I kept it from you.”

“You don’t have a single thing to worry about. I promise,” I said.

Jared switched off the lamp and crawled over to his side, pulling me to him.

“I missed you,” I said, settling into his arms. “It’s going to be hard to go back to the way it was when my hand heals. I could probably start staying at Andrews this weekend.”

“You don’t have to leave,” Jared whispered in the dim light.

I buried my head into his chest. I had never wanted anything more, but Ryan’s words about moving too fast came to the forefront of my mind.

“I would love that…someday,” I said, hoping to preserve his feelings.

“Someday,” he repeated, sighing. “I understand. It’s too fast.”

“Maybe just a little,” I smiled, kissing his chest.

The next morning, I woke up in Jared’s arms. He was awake, patiently holding me against him. My smile faded when I realized it would be our last morning together for awhile.