Chapter 55

“Oh, Io…” He settled the box in the snow, wiping away the first escaped tear with his thumb. “You know what I see?”

“A fool?”

“Far from it. I see someone who remembers to live in the moment, to embrace the simple pleasures of life instead of getting bogged down in the chaos that does in so many others. I see a man not afraid to enjoy the things that make him happy, someone more true to himself than anyone else I know. But most of all, I see a man with a heart so full of love and life that he has to share it with the world. The very person teaching me how to live again.”

“Cinder…” Io whispered, tears now leaving wet tracks down his cheeks.