My eyes focus on his wildcat tattoo and I smile. “How long?”
“What?”
“How long have you wanted me?”
“I think I’ve wanted you since the day we first met.”
I draw in a breath and hate that my mind goes where it shouldn’t. “But Bria—”
“That’s the thing, Hayls.” He wriggles around, effortlessly repositioning me until he can look me in the eyes. “Bria’s the reason I think that way. From the moment you walked into my life, I felt Bria pull back. As though she was threatened, or couldn’t stand sharing the attention. But I’m only now realizing how stupid I’ve been, because it wasn’t Bria at all. It wasme. I pulled back.Ichanged.”
My breath hitches and I want to believe him but… “You loved her once,” I say, glancing away, my heart pounding as the words fall from my lips. We’ve joked about this and he always denied it, always said it was merely attraction. But how can he be so sure?
Reed’s forefinger and thumb curl around my chin before he lifts my head to face him, forcing me to see the emotion in his eyes. “I don’t think Ieverloved her. I can’t have. Not considering how much I care for you. But even if I did, I don’t feel that way anymore.”
“I’m sorry.” My voice comes out raspy until I clear my throat. “I’m just so freaking scared.”
“I know, Baby.”
My hands flatten against his chest as he pulls me into his arms, pressing another kiss to my head. “I know,” he repeats against my hair. “But you’re only scared because you’re making our story about someone else. And it shouldn’t be. It’s just you and me, Hayls.” He lifts me as he sits up, perching me on his lap, his hands cupping my face. “It’s always been you and me. It just took us both far too long to see it.”
I let his words sink in and wrap around my heart, feeling them down to the very depths of my soul. “Okay,” I whisper, unable to form the right words.
“Okay?” He raises a brow in question.
“Yes, I came out here because I realized something… I may not be ready to say those three little words, but that doesn’t mean I can’tshowyou how I feel, or listen when you bare your heart. As I opened that door, I had a question on my lips.” My eyes drop to his tattoo again and a fresh wave of emotion overwhelms me. “But the second I saw you, it didn’t matter. Because I know the answer. You can say it now. I think I’m ready to hear it.”
Reed’s eyes widen before his hands sink into my hair, his hold possessive as his gaze bores into mine. “You think? How about I soften it a little… Hayley, I have nevernotloved someone the way Idon’tlove you.” His lips pull into a soft grin and I match it, my heart jolting in my chest.
“You’re the worst liar,” I whisper as his love warms me from inside. “I—”
“Wait.” Reed presses his lips to mine, cutting me off, and when we part again, I gasp at the intensity of his gaze. “I want to tell you the truth. Please.”
“Okay,” I whisper. “I’m ready.”
“Are you sure? It’s going to be deep and probably corny.”
I snort as I laugh. Only Reed would know exactly what to say to calm me. “Hit me with it.”
“You, Hayley Marie Jackman, are the bane of my existence.” My eyes narrow as he laughs, but before I can say anything, he presses a finger to my lips. “Before you, I thought I knew who I was and what I wanted. I was happy to coast through life, smiling and doing the right thing. But you changed all that. You changedme. I went from being someone that looked for the good in every situation to wanting to burn the world down to protect you, desperate to shield you from anyone that might want tocause you harm. And I’ve never felt more like myself. I know you’re strong. I know you can look after yourself. Probably better than I can. But I want to be the man that stands by your side. I want to be your person. The guy you come home to after a tough day. The guy you trust to watch you break, while you’re holding it together for the rest of the world. The guy you laugh with, cry with, the guy you choose to take on all your crazy adventures. I want to be that man. And I’m willing to wait a lifetime to get there. You’re my rock, my heart, my oxygen. And I plan to spend all my days showing youexactlyhow you deserve to be loved.”
I sniff as my eyes fill with tears and the world around us ceases to exist. “I want all of that too, Reed. But I’m scared. Our fake relationship is the deepest connection I’ve ever felt to another human, and IknowI’m falling in love with you. I am. I’m just terrified that I’ll mess it all up. Oryouwill. That you’ll realize I’ll never compare to Br—”
“Hayley—”
“No, wait. I promise after this I’ll never worry about her again. But I need to get it off my chest. I told you about my family. And I wasn’t lying. They loved and supported me, but that love never felt anywhere near as strong as yours does. And that raises the stakes. If they hurt me, my heart would crack, but ifthisends, if I lose you, it’ll obliterate my soul, my very being. Because I have never felt more vulnerable than I do with you. I’ve never allowed myself to feel that. Somewhere along the way, my heart became yours.Ibecame yours, and if I lose you, I lose a piece of myself. I’ll never be the same again.”
Reed shakes as his throat bobs. “I would never let that happen, Hayley.” His voice cracks with the weight of emotion. “You haveallof me. I surrender it all to you. Let me show you that I’m worth taking a risk on. Let me prove to you that I’m not going anywhere.” He places his hand on the paw print above his heartand my chest swells. “Because you’re here,” he whispers, his eyes locked with mine. “Forever etched onto my soul.”
“That tattoo’s for me, isn’t it?”
“It is.” Reed smiles and a moment of pride takes over him. It could be the fact that I figured it out, or it could be something more.
“And the rest?” I grimace as I voice the question I should have kept to myself, and from his frown, he knows what I’m really asking. “It doesn’t matter,” I add before he can respond. “I promised I wouldn’t worry and—”
“There are none, Hayls. Not a single one.”
Though it probably shouldn’t, my heart soars as I’m overcome with emotion, and when it all gets too much, his words from earlier float through my mind. “It’s always been you and me. It’s just you and me.”
