Page 96 of Rook
“You don’t have to say it perfectly,” Avery whispered. “You just have to say it to me.”
Something in him eased, not all the way, but enough that she felt it under her palms.
He pulled her into his chest again, slower this time, gentler, his forehead resting against her temple. Avery closed her eyes, breathing him in — leather, smoke, rain, and something warm beneath it all that she’d never forgotten.
His voice came low, almost against her skin. “Aves… I love you.”
It wasn’t smooth. It wasn’t practiced. It wasn’t anything but true.
Avery’s fingers curled into the back of his shirt. “I love you too,” she whispered. “I always have.”
He exhaled, long and unsteady, like the words had been sitting inside him for years, waiting for a place to land.
They stood like that, quiet and close, the world narrowing to the steady thrum of his heartbeat against her cheek.
For the first time since she’d come home, Avery felt the fear loosen its grip on her ribs. For the first time in years, she felt steady.
Rook’s hand slid down her back, settling at her waist. “Stay,” he murmured.
Avery lifted her head, meeting his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere.”
His breath shifted in a controlled exhale that told her the words had hit somewhere deep.
Rook lifted her chin with one hand and kissed her with a fierce, steady certainty that made her knees go weak. It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t frantic. It was the kind of kiss that came from years of wanting and finally, finally having the right to show it.
Avery curled her fingers into the front of his shirt, holding on as his mouth moved against hers with a quiet intensity that stole the air from her lungs. When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested against hers, his breathing rough but steady.
Avery’s chest ached in the best way.
She rested her hand over his heart. “We’ll figure it out,” she said softly. “Together.”
Rook nodded once, slow and sure, like the wordtogetherwas something he’d been waiting years to hear.
Avery felt something settle inside her — something warm, steady, and terrifying in its certainty. She looked up at him, really looked, and the truth settled deep and sure: she belonged with him… the man she’d been waiting to come home to for years.
They weren’t just surviving anymore. They were choosing each other. Finally. Fully. Forever.
Epilogue
Avery
Six Months Later
The bell over the bakery door chimed, a bright, cheerful sound that still made Avery smile every single time.
Sweet Treats smelled like cinnamon, sugar, and home.
Sunlight streamed through the front windows, catching the soft pastel paint she’d chosen, the handwritten chalkboard menu, the framed photos of her aunt, the Saints, and the community that had rallied around her. The place was full — it always was now — with locals chatting over coffee, kids pressingtheir noses to the pastry case, and the occasional biker lounging at a corner table like they owned the place.
Fish sat in his usual spot by the window, pretending he wasn’t babysitting the place while Rook was on a run. Grim was fixing the loose leg on one of the chairs because he’d noticed it wobble once and declared it “a hazard.” Havoc was teaching a kid how to flip a coin and absolutely cheating at it. Ledger had installed a tiny camera in the back hallway “for safety,” but everyone knew it was because he liked tracking which pastry caused the highest spike in customer satisfaction.
On the counter beside the register sat a small stack of envelopes — donations the club had collected for the youth center fundraiser Avery was running. Stone had dropped them off earlier with a gruff, “For the kids,” and left before she could thank him. The Saints didn’t just protect her. They showed up for her.
Avery wiped her hands on her apron and stepped back to admire the morning rush. Six months ago, she’d been terrified she wouldn’t make it. Terrified she’d fail and never feel whole again.
Now? She was thriving. Confident. Steady. Happy. Healed.
The door chimed again. And there he was.
