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his, rubbing his thumb in circles over my skin. “I want to color your world, Ree. I want to be the source of your laughter, to inspire your smiles, to share in all the good that’s yet to come.” He leaned back in the chair and fished something out of his jacket pocket.
    A small blue velvet box.
    Oh. My. God.
    “I don’t ever want us apart again. My heart broke at the thought of losing you. I can’t bear to go through that ever again. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He opened the box to reveal a small, antique silver ring with the most beautiful, brilliant sapphire stone set in the middle of it. “We are two parts of a whole,” he said. “We always have been. Say you’ll be my other half forever, Ree.”
    “Yes.” I nodded. My head felt like it weighed a freaking ton, but I didn’t care. “Yes, yes, yes. Forever and then some.”
    Exhaling sharply, he slid the ring on my finger and then claimed my mouth with his. His tongue entwined with mine, sending tingles down my spine. My heart was on a sprint and my head was on a tilt-a-whirl. The kiss seemed like it was going to go on forever—not that I was complaining—but he pulled away slightly to let me catch my breath. His lips were still so close to mine, his fingers still interlocked with my own, and his eyes refused to let me go.
    The look he gave me warmed every part of my body, delving into my soul and spreading through me like warm, rich chocolate. It was a look from a best friend. A lover. A soul mate. A partner in all the good and the bad.
    It held a promise that, from now on, our world was going to be filled with only happiness, laughter, and love. We were going to live the rest of our lives in bright, vibrant color.
    We were way overdue.

seven

    W e stood in front of Rex’s gravestone, and all I could think about was the fact that the drab, gray marble wasn’t worthy of the man nor his memory. Even the “Beloved Friend and Father” inscription seemed like it wasn’t doing enough, wasn’t saying everything it should. Everything I wanted people to know about Rex.
    He’d saved me. Plain and simple.
    Not only had he been the most brilliant artist of his time, he’d been the most generous person I knew. He’d taken me in when he should have booted me out the door. He’d given me a second chance after I’d fucked up the first.
    He’d loved me like my own father never had—like a son.
    And the gaping hole he’d left in my life hurt like hell.
    “Aw, fuck, Ree,” I said. The late November wind cut across my skin, stinging my face, chilling me to the bone. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, and pulled her closer into me. If it hadn’t been for her, my heart would be completely empty. Missing Rex.
    “I know,” she said as she pressed her cheek into my leather jacket. “Me, too.”
    No matter how firmly I hugged her or how hard I kissed her, I felt like we still couldn’t be close enough. Three weeks had passed since I’d gotten her back, but I still couldn’t let her out of my sight.
    For the first time in my life, I had everything I wanted. Well, almost everything. But it had come at a steep price. For us both.
    “What are we going to do with all of Rex’s stuff?” Ree bit down on her lip and glanced up at me. “We can’t just keep ignoring the fact that you’ve inherited his estate. Things have to be taken care of…” Her eyes glistened with tears. “We have to do right by him, Dare.”
    “I don’t want his money,” I said immediately. “It’s not right.”
    Two weeks ago, mere days after burying him, his attorney had called to tell me that Rex had left everything to me in his will. Money, paintings, even his house. He had no other family, and had listed me as his sole beneficiary.
    Having led a frugal, reclusive life, he’d accumulated an impressive amount of savings. If I chose to keep the money, Ree and I were guaranteed an easy ride for the rest of our lives.
    A ride that would be funded by blood