Page 46 of Madden

Pushing her hair back from her face, I reach down to her chin and tilt it up so that we can see each other clearly. "You don't owe me a thank you, or anything of that nature, Bec. I wanted to do it, and he was open to hearing what I had to say."

"Are you sure?" She raises her eyebrows. "That doesn't sound like Trey."

"Not at first, but when I explained to him what was going to happen when he was sentenced, and possibly moved to federal prison, he understood." I swallow hard, ready to lay everything out on the table for her. "I might have also told him I'm head over heels in love with you, too." I lick my suddenly dry lips. "And I want to move you and Mick into my house. Want us to buy a place together, at some point. Would love for you to have my last name when the time is right. I want all of it with you, Bec, but I'm willing to wait. I know how much Mick means to you. I know how hard you've been working and what you've done to get yourself where you are right now. I don't want to impede..."

She puts her finger on my lips. "Stop talking." She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth before letting a smile spread across her face. "You're not going to impede anything. I want all of that with you too, Madden. I don't know when, but I fell in love with you. Maybe it was when you worried more about me and Mick than you did yourself, or that first kiss you gave me. It could've been the night we spent at your house, or a few minutes ago when I read the letter Trey sent me with the paperwork that says Mick is mine. Either way." She leans in, kissing me squarely on the lips. "I'm there with you, and I want nothing more than for us to have the life we've both always dreamed about."

My heart thrums against my chest. There are no words, there's only action as I pull her mouth to mine, sealing what she's just said with a kiss. She meets me right there, and sweeps her tongue against mine, digging her fingers in my hair. I hold on to her ass with my free hand, encouraging her to grind against me. We're into it until we hear a horn honk.

"Get a room, you two. Shit, this is a police station."

Caleb.

We pull away from each other. She buries her face in my neck, and I look over her shoulder at him. Although he said the words with what sounded like irritation, he's grinning at me, flashing a thumbs up.

"We will. See you later."

I get up, holding her body to mine, and make a mad dash for my truck. As we're driving away, everyone who was inside is standing out on the steps, clapping for us.

"Congratulations, you two!" Millie yells from the top, waving.

We share a grin, and I reach over, grabbing her hand, resting it on the console. "This." I lift our clasped fingers together to my lips. "Is what I've always wanted. This will never be broken as long as we keep the connection strong."

She nods. "We'll keep it strong, and it'll last forever."

Sounds fucking good to me.

CHAPTER 32

BECCA

"Thankyou so much for what you did when I needed you," I tell Stephanie as the two of us continue to pack up the apartment. "I'll never know how to repay you."

"You don't have to," she shakes her head. "Beckett needs a place to stay. He's starting his job in a week, and who knows how long he'll be here. It's not forever."

"Hopefully, the two of you will get along."

She gives me a wink. "We've been FaceTiming so that we know a little bit about each other. He's hot," she says with a giggle.

"I know. The other day when I was with Madden, he FaceTimed, and I was like he's a cutie, Steph is going to have a great time with him. He seems like your kind of guy, too, in everything I've heard."

"Yeah," Stephanie tsks, pursing her lips. "I think we'll have fun together."

"Is this the last of the boxes?" Madden questions as he enters the living room.

I point over to the small pile that's left. "Those are it, and this is the last one we're packing up. I'll bring it down in a fewminutes. I wanna talk to Steph for a second. Is Mick okay down there?"

"Yeah, he's riding over to get some dipped chicken with Chief Harrison and Caleb. If I'm not careful, he's going to like Caleb more than me." He rolls his eyes. "But I'll be down there when you're ready to go."

"Okay, thank you." I blow him a kiss.

Stephanie finishes packing the last box and then sits back on her heels. I sigh, pushing back tears that are threatening to spill over. We stare at one another, and then stand together, throwing our arms around each other.

"I'm gonna miss you." She cries, holding onto my neck tightly.

"I'm gonna miss you, too. It's not like we'll never see each other." I cry, hugging her. "We're still going to live here, and this place is small."

"I know, but I got used to y'all being here. It's going to be weird coming home with no one here, and Mick's toys not lying around."

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