“She doesn’t mean it, Paisley. She’s just scared. We would never do that to you,” he whispered. “Merry Christmas.”

I gave him a squeeze and walked out the door. It took me an hour to pack, where I ignored every text and the six phone calls Mama placed to my cell phone.

Instead I placed my own, and hoped she’d have room for one more for Christmas.

I left Morgan a note, since she was with her parents, and got on the highway, but not before I stopped at the store for the last thing I needed.

The drive was long and quiet. I didn’t listen to music, just let my thoughts sort themselves out. Pacemaker, surgery, death—these were terms being thrown around like I needed to choose between strawberry and vanilla ice cream. But everyone who declared it an easy decision wasn’t the one who had to make it. Dr. Larondy had said I had some time before I had to choose, and I was going to use every second of it.

I just wanted to live, and not the half existence full of limits and doctor visits, but truly live, like those boxes on the list demanded. If I could live these next 118 days and finish the list, then I’d consider one of their solutions, but I wasn’t going to feel unfinished when they cut me open and tried to fix me.

I took each turn the GPS said to until, five and a half hours later, I parked across from a really nice condo complex. I zipped my coat as the first snowflakes fell and grabbed my bag from the trunk.

Stupidest thing you’ve ever done. Loony tunes, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

My heart felt fine climbing the stairs, but my belly was in knots as I opened the door to the hallway. I compared the number with the address in the text message, swallowed, and knocked.

“What, did you forget your key?” he said through the door, and my breath caught.

“Good thing they knocked,” a female voice said. “I mean, imagine if we’d been busy!” She laughed, and my stomach lurched. Who was that? What if he’d gotten tired of being only friends? What if I’d made him wait too long, and he was no longer interested? The locks slid open, and then so did the door.

The young woman who answered was beautiful and exotic in a way I never would be. Her mocha skin was flawless and contrasted with her light green eyes. “Can I help you?” she asked with a genuine smile.

“I…I was just looking for someone,” I stammered, afraid that the chance I’d taken was about to be on the stupider side of the things I’d done.

“Paisley?” His incredulous voice came from behind the girl.

I forced a trembling smile as Jagger gently moved the girl out of his way. “Hey.”

His mouth hung open for a second, and I drank him in greedily. He’d been gone for four days, and given the daily contact we usually had, it felt like a lifetime. His long-sleeved shirt molded to his muscles, and his jeans followed suit. “I just…I wanted…” I shook my head and forced out a smile. “I didn’t know you’d be…you know”—I gestured to where the girl stared at us in confusion—“busy.”

“With Sam?” His eyebrows puckered and then arched. “Oh, Paisley, no. Sam is Ember’s best friend. We used to live next door to each other in Colorado. Just a friend. Come in.”

I shook my head, unsure for the first time since I’d stopped at that store in Daleville. “Friends like we are?”

Jagger came into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. His gaze raked down my body, hot as ever, and I cursed the parts of me that jumped to life. Especially if he’d been having friendly relations with that beautiful girl. “God, I’ve missed you.”

“Friends like we are?” I repeated, needing to know. Standing across from him, knowing what I wanted now, was the sweetest torture.

“No one is friends like we are.” He folded his arms over his chest. “I’m thrilled to see you, but why aren’t you with your family?”

I dove headfirst. “I wanted to be with you.”

His breath hitched, and his eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. I needed to make myself clear. “I want to be with you, Jagger.” I enunciated each word slowly, and then unbuttoned my belted black trench coat, revealing that on top of my white blouse and jeans, I’d tied my chest with a giant red ribbon. “Merry Christmas.”

A heartbeat passed, then two, three, and four, before a smile slowly spread across his face. He was incredible, both inside and out, and maybe mine. “But I need to tell you something first.”

“Later.” He reached out like lightning, cupping my neck and pulling me to him, crushing his mouth over mine. I leaned into his kiss, looping my arms around his neck, and kissed him like I’d fantasized about for the last month. I sucked his tongue into my mouth and was rewarded by a groan.

He spun and pressed me against the door. I hitched one of my legs around his hips, and he ran his hand down the back of my thigh, lifting me so I was at face level.

“Tell me you mean it,” he growled into my neck, alternating licks and nibbles that had me arching to give him better access.

“I mean it,” I gasped. This was the best road trip ever, and I hadn’t made it past the front door yet. My hands threaded in his hair.

“You’re mine?”

I would have laughed if he hadn’t looked so apprehensive. “Yes.”

“Say it.”

A shot of pure lust fired through me at the demand in his eyes. “I’m yours, Jagger.”

“Thank God,” he whispered against my lips before sinking into me. He tasted like warm peppermint from the mints I now knew he was addicted to, and his tongue sent delicious shivers down my spine to pool deep in my belly. He angled my head, kissing me deeper, and I whimpered, desperate to get closer to him.