I love you. I care for you.
Those were the exact, elusive words Severine had chased for what felt like several lifetimes, and here someone was, readily and casually offering them to her in a pavilion.
Killian had said those words to her before, but his version had always been delivered in a rushed, feverish voice while kissing her breathless, as if he were trying to pour his very soul into her lungs.
Perhaps he had said them too many times that sometimes Severine would secretly wonder if a love so frequently spoken was truly real, or if it was something light and fragile that could be tossed around this casually.
That was one of the buried reasons why she had never confessed to him. At least, not verbally.
However, this turbulent trip to the northern province had changed everything for her.
She not only knew now that Killian's words were as real as his very being, but she had finally taken the initiative on that freezing balcony to tell him her true feelings.
