“I love you,” he said. “I want you more than life itself. Forever.” He brushed a hand across her cheek. “And I will take care of you always.”

“You remembered,” he said quietly.Lowering the bow, Scarlet kept her eyes on him. “I remembered.”

“Is it okay if I love you forever? Even if forever is only for a lifetime?”

“I don’t care if I die a thousand more times ... I need you to live.”

“As far as where you belong…” He put a hand over his heart. “Right here. Always. In life and death and everything in between.” He paused. “Never question it.”

“So," Nate attempted conversation for the third time. He seemed to be in a better mood lately. "Do you guys maybe want to talk about how every uncomfortable this is?" He smiled tightly, looking first at Tristan, then at Scarlet. "Because I don't know about you, but I feel awkward. Let's hash it out, shall we? Tristan," Nate said brightly. "We'll start with you. How are you feeling?""Annoyed.""I like your honesty and openness." Nate turned to Scarlet. "What about you? How are you feeling?""Tired," she said. "Nine in the morning is too early for needles."Tristan said, "Maybe if you hadn't stayed out so late, you wouldn't be so tired."Scarlet said, "Look who's decided to speak again. Suddenly the silent and dark Tristan has an opinion on my life.""Oh, I have many opinions.""See?" Nate said, his smile tighter than before. "Isn't all this openness refreshing?”

“Gabriel nodded. “Sometimes love makes hard decisions for the sake of what needs protecting.” “But love should fight.” He nodded slowly. “Yes, love should fight. But there is a difference between a valiant fight and a selfish fight. And love is not selfish.” She turned to look at him across the grass. “For someone who is cursed to be without love you are quite wise on matters of the heart.” Sorrow filled her eyes. “I’m sorry for your curse.” He shrugged. “It could be worse. I could be cursed to an eternity of pain or a life without chocolate.”