Page 57 of The Stars

And as he looked around the room—at his friends, his family—he felt a swell of hope. They would face the gods together. And they would win.

Chapter Nineteen

It was all so hard to wrap her mind around. Once everyone was caught up on the past week of their lives, Amy and Dante stepped out of the front door of Xtina and Michael’s place.

She leaned against Dante as they stood together, the night air far chillier than the past few nights they’d enjoyed. The stars above Hidden Creek glittered brightly, and for a moment, she let herself just breathe it in—the familiarity of being back home after what felt like weeks, though it had only been days.

“I never expected to miss this place.” She sighed.

“Makes you appreciate everything more,” he agreed.

Her eyes fell on their cars parked among the others, like nothing had changed. The sight was oddly comforting, grounding her in the reality that, despite everything, they were back, safe.

“How is it possible?” she murmured, staring at the cars. Hers was exactly where she’d left it days ago, in her mind. “Everything’s exactly where we left it.”

Dante’s hand found the small of her back, his touch steady and reassuring. “It’s like we never left,” he said softly, his voice warm and full of the same disbelief she was feeling.

It was a little past two in the morning.

“What next?” he asked.

“I think you mean, your place or mine?” she joked.

His hands moved up and down her body. “Your place is fine. I’m sure you want to get into your clothes and sleep in your bed.”

“Your place is bigger,” she pointed out. “I can stop by my place first and grab a bag of things. It’s on the way.”

He grinned, the moonlight casting shadows across his face as his hands rested on her waist. His lips brushed hers, soft and teasing. “Whatever you want,” he whispered against her mouth. “Just as long as I get another night holding you.”

She smiled up at him, her arms slipping around his neck as she leaned into him. Being with him now, after everything they had just gone through, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Amy’s heart fluttered at his words, the sincerity in them making her stomach flip. There had been so much between them—uncertainty, distance, timing. But now? Now there was clarity. A certainty that she belonged with him, in every possible way.

They walked together to her car, the world around them still and quiet. The night felt thick with possibility, and even though the gods’ threat still loomed over them, for this moment, everything was perfect.

She leaned against her car door, her hand still intertwined with his. “I never thought it would feel this… normal.”

Dante chuckled softly, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. “After everything we’ve been through, normal feels pretty good, doesn’t it?”

She nodded, biting her lip as she stared up at him. “I don’t want this to end. Us, I mean.”

His eyes softened, his free hand brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “It won’t,” he promised. “Not now, not ever. We’ve found our way to each other so many times. That’s never going to change.”

Her heart swelled at his words, and for the first time in a long time, the future didn’t feel so terrifying. It felt… hopeful.

“Then let’s go home,” she whispered, leaning in to press her lips to his. The kiss was soft but full of promise, and as she pulled back, her heart pounded with the knowledge that she had finally found her place.

Half an hour later, she glanced over at Dante as he drove his truck up the steep grade of his driveway. They had quickly swung by her place and he’d waited as she’d packed an overnight bag with some essentials.

After having nothing for almost a full week, it seemed strange to toss makeup and other toiletry items into a bag. She threw in some jeans and shirts along with the sexiest clean underwear she could find in her dresser drawers.

She decided to keep her car at her place and jumped in his truck to ride with him over to his house.

Somewhere below them in the dark, Hidden Creek was asleep and it felt like the world belonged to just the two of them. Every now and then, Dante would glance at her, a smile playing on his lips. She could feel it—the comfort of being with him, the weight of what they had gone through lifting, if only for a little while.

As they approached the top of the hill, Dante slowed down.

“Home sweet home.” He sighed as his headlights landed on the place.