Sasha laughs. “Not quite.” Then he gives it to me.
I yank the ribbon. The lid falls away to reveal a book. Bound in supple black leather, title gold-embossed: A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME.
And beneath that… a byline.
My breath catches. Holy s**t. Blank pages whisper as I flip through. Untouched. Unwritten. Waiting.
“You have so many stories to tell. But your story is the most important one of all. Your whole life, it’s been written for you. Not anymore.” He touches my chin to make me look up at him. “Write a better story. Write your story. Our story.”
Words clog my throat. All I can do is stare at the space where the first words of my story will go when I’m ready to write it. Unmarked territory, all mine to conquer.
I look up at him. “I love you, Sasha.”
It comes out before I can second-gu
