He cups my face, his thumb brushing beneath my eye, wiping away a tear I didn’t even realize had slipped down.
“You scared me, baby,” he whispers, his voice wobbly, like the words are splintered pieces of his soul.
“I love you,” he says against my lips, his voice shaking. He drops his forehead against mine, as his thumb traces a slow line across my cheek. “I don’t know how to do this right. I don’t have the words.” His voice breaks, and a singletear slips down his cheek before he leans in, kissing the corner of my mouth. “I’ve been sitting out there for a week,” he murmurs, as his hand comes up to cradle the side of my face. “And I—I couldn’t breathe without you. I haven’t eaten. I haven’t fucking slept. I haven’t even left that damn chair because what if I missed something? What if you woke up and I wasn’t here?”
He pulls back just far enough to look at me, his blue eyes raw, red-rimmed, swimming with everything he’s never said. Another tear falls, and he wipes it away with the back of his knuckle like it hurts him to let me see it.
“I kept thinking about all the things I never fucking said,” he continues, brushing a strand of hair from my face with trembling fingers. “All the times I should’ve held you longer. Looked at you harder.” He presses another kiss to my lips, soft and slow, before whispering, “I love you, Catalina. I love you so much it makes me feel like I’m falling apart.” His thumb grazes the underside of my eye, wiping away another tear. “I don’t care if you’re broken. I don’t care if you’re angry, scared, or sad. I want you, only you.”
His hand slides down, resting over my heart like he’s trying to steady both of us. “You always think you’re too much. But baby, I swear to God, you’re just enough. You’re everything.”
He swallows hard, as his thumb traces my bottom lip like he’s memorizing the shape of it. “I know you don’t believe that—but I do. I believe in you so hard it hurts.” His voice drops, and he presses his forehead against mine again. “You think you’re hard to love, but loving you is the only thing that’s ever made sense to me.”
A choked breath rattles in his throat. “I don’t care how dark it gets in your head. I don’t care if you fall apart athousand times—I’ll be here every damn time to help put you back together.”
He’s already confessed his love to me when I pretended to be asleep, but this?
“I love you.”
The words finally spill, leaving me in a cracked whisper, my voice so raw it barely sounds like mine. My face is a disaster, but I don’t fucking care. I’m crying so hard my ribs ache, sobs wreck through me as I clutch Carter like he’s the only thing keeping me here.
“I love you,” I repeat, louder now, shaking all over. “I’ve loved you since the second you looked at me like I wasn’t broken.” My forehead drops to his chest, as I fist his hoodie in both hands, grounding myself in the only thing that’s ever felt real.
“I was so scared,” I breathe, every word unraveling something inside me. “Scared because it’s not supposed to be this way. You were my dad’s best friend. You were supposed to keep your distance. You were supposed to see me as a brat, not someone you’d… love back.” My voice cracks on that last part, another sob slipping out before I can stop it. “My dad made me feel like I had to earn love. Like I needed to be perfect to be worth anything. I spent my whole life trying to be small enough for him, but it was never enough.”
I bury my face into Carter’s neck, breathing him in. “But you—God, Carter—you never wanted me to be anything but exactly who I am. Even when I was a mess, especially when I was.” The tears come harder now, soaking his hoodie. “I didn’t know how to love you right. I didn’t know how to accept something good. All I’ve ever known is silence, disapproval, and distance disguised as love. Andthen you happened, you ruined all of that. You made me feel seen.”
I finally lift my head just enough to look at him through blurry vision. “I thought loving you was wrong. But love doesn’t care about rules. It doesn’t care if it’s messy or if it’s forbidden. It just… is.”
My chest heaves as I struggle for breath, my voice nothing but broken pieces. “I love you. I love you so much it fucking terrifies me.” I press myself against him again. “Please don’t let go of me, not when I finally understand what it feels like to be loved.”
Carter’s arms wrap around me as he holds me tight. His hand cradles the back of my neck as the other wipes away my tears. He lowers his forehead, pressing it against mine. With a whisper, he responds.
“I’m never letting you go, baby. Not now, not ever.” He pulls away, pressing a soft, featherlight kiss to my lips. “You’re mine, and I’ve got you.”
I cling to Carter, holding the man I’ve truly ever loved in my arms. He’s all I’ve ever wanted, and never did I think I’d deserve a love like this.
Layla sniffles behind me. “I’m gonna throw up, this is so fucking cute.”
Amelia rolls her eyes, no real heat behind it. “This is so Beth and Rip coded.”
Maverick whistles. “Finally, fuck. He’s been a mess without you.”
Reed grunts in agreement, a soft smile tugging at his lips.
I laugh, wiping at my eyes, my fingers still clinging to Carter.
“Well, sorry to interrupt the love fest,” Vartan says, hisvoice flat. “But let’s go, Catalina. You’re still getting married.”
Just like that, the moment is ruined.
I feel Carter tense immediately. His arms go rigid around me. This man is about to swing.
“Don’t,” I whisper, tugging gently on his arm. “Please, don’t.” I push myself upright, my heart racing, but something inside me feels clearer than it ever has. I look my father dead in the eyes.
“Get out.”
His brows rise, his smug expression faltering. “Excuse me?”
