Chapter 54
Chapter Fifty-Four
Sienna
The bonfire has burned down to glowing embers, casting a soft amber glow across the sand.
Milo and I sway slowly to the fading music, the beach nearly empty in the early morning hours. My arms are looped around his neck, fingers playing with the soft hair at his nape. His hands rest low on my waist, thumbs tracing lazy circles through the thin fabric of my dress.
Every gentle turn makes the skirt brush against his legs, and the night air has cooled enough that I can feel the delicious contrast between his body heat and my skin.
I rest my cheek against his chest, listening to the steady, reassuring thump of his heart.
My heart does that familiar, chaotic dance it always does around him—racing, flipping, refusing to settle.
But this time the flutter doesn’t scare me.
It feels right. As if it’s finally found the rhythm it’s been searching for.
“You’re quiet,” Milo murmurs, his lips brushing the top of my head. “That’s rare. Should I be worried?”
I tilt my head back to look up at him, a soft smile curving my lips. Moonlight catches the strong line of his jaw and the gentle curve of his smile, tightening my chest with affection.
“I’m thinking,” I reply. “Dangerous activity, I know.”
“About?”
“About how I used to hate slow dancing,” I admit, sliding my fingers deeper into his hair and tugging lightly.
“Thought it was boring, predictable, something couples did when they ran out of things to say.” I pause, letting the words settle between us.
“Turns out it’s not so bad when the right person is holding you like this. ”
His eyes soften as his grip on my waist tightens, drawing me closer until there’s no space left between us. “Careful, baby. Keep saying sweet things like that, and I might start believing you actually like me.”
“Oh, I like you.” I rise onto my toes, brushing my lips against his in a teasing, almost-kiss. “A dangerous amount. The kind that makes me forget how to be cynical.”
Milo closes the distance without hesitation, kissing me properly.
It’s slow and deep, the kind of kiss that makes my toes curl into the sand and sends warmth blooming through my body.
His hands glide up my back, one settling between my shoulder blades while the other cups the nape of my neck, holding me still.
When we pull apart, he’s breathless. “Can we go somewhere?” he asks softly, resting his forehead against mine. “Just the two of us?”
I nod without hesitation. “Lead the way, Mr. Wet-Pants-Wonder.”
We say a quick goodnight to Aria and Ethan, and my sister gives me a knowing wink and a little thumbs-up, which makes me roll my eyes even as I grin. Then we slip away from the dying fire, leaving the last embers glowing behind us.
Milo’s hand finds mine immediately, our fingers lacing together like they were always meant to fit this perfectly.
For a while, we walk in comfortable silence, the only sounds the rhythmic crash of the waves and the swaying of the palm fronds in the breeze.
Milo stops walking as we near our villa, turning to face me fully. His free hand comes up to cup my cheek, his thumb stroking my skin in that way that always calms the jitter in my leg and the storm in my head.
“Sienna… I need to tell you something.”
The seriousness in his voice makes my stomach flutter with anticipation.
“I’m listening,” I whisper.
He takes a slow, steadying breath, eyes locked on mine with an intensity that makes my knees feel weak. The ocean seems to hold its breath right along with me.
“I think I fell for you the very first night we were in that hot tub,” he says softly, a shy smile tugging at his lips.
“You were sitting across from me, and I remember thinking how annoyingly beautiful you were… how your laugh made something in my chest feel lighter. I told myself it was just attraction, just the island, the alcohol, the moment.”
He pauses, his thumb still stroking my cheek, eyes searching mine like he’s making sure I’m really hearing him.
I am.
“But it wasn’t,” he continues. “That night, when you looked at me and said you didn’t want to mess things up… something shifted. I didn’t have the words for it then. I only knew I wanted to protect whatever this was. And every day after that, I fell a little harder.”
His voice grows quieter, more vulnerable, almost reverent.
“I love you, Sienna. Not just the wild, loud, chaotic version of you—though I’m completely obsessed with her, too.
I love the softer parts of you as well. The way you get quiet when something matters.
The way you let me hold you when your knee won’t stop bouncing.
The way you look at me like I’m safe. You’ve turned my careful, planned life completely upside down… and I’m grateful for it.”
His forehead rests against mine, his breath warm on my lips. Tears slip down my cheeks as I smile up at him, my heart so full it feels like it might burst. His words hit me like sunlight breaking through after a terrible storm.
“Milo…” My voice cracks, thick with emotion. “You big, ridiculous, perfect man. I love you too. So much. I think I started falling for you that same night. I just didn’t want to admit it.”
He lets out a shaky breath of pure relief and joy, then wraps his arms tightly around me and lifts me slightly off the sand.
“Someone once told me love could be extraordinary,” I whisper, looking into his eyes. “He was right. Loving you, Milo Reyes, is the most extraordinary thing I have ever done.”
“Fuck, Sienna,” he murmurs as he leans in to kiss me again—soft, deep, and full of forever. “Do you know how fast my heart is beating right now… because of you?”
“I can only imagine,” I answer, resting my hand on his chest. I feel it racing beneath my palm. “Mine is beating just as erratically.”
He settles me back on my feet, but I barely have time to steady myself before his fingers tangle in my hair and he kisses me passionately, pouring everything into it.
I wrap my arms around his neck, rising on my toes to press closer, melting into him.
His tongue slides against mine, warm and claiming, and for a moment, the world narrows to just us.
Eventually, reluctantly, we part and start walking again—much more slowly this time. His arm drapes over my shoulder as mine circles his waist. His free hand strokes soothing patterns along my back.
I’m going to savor every second of the next two days with him before we go home. I’ll memorize the way he looks at me like I hung the moon, the way his laugh rumbles deep in his chest, and the way his hand always finds my knee when my leg starts its restless bounce.
Home.
The word feels brand new because home is starting to feel like wherever Milo is.
“You’re doing that thinking thing again,” he teases gently, pressing a lingering kiss to my temple.
I smile up at him. “Just planning how I’m going to annoy you over the next two days. Expect maximum chaos, minimum clothes, and maybe some burnt eggs as a love language.”
He groans dramatically, but his eyes sparkle with laughter and pure affection. “You’re going to kill me, baby.”
“Only in the best way,” I nudge his side playfully. “You’ll love every single second of it.”
He kisses my temple, then smiles. “That I will, because I love you.”