Page 140 of Fake Out Hearts

My throat is so tight that I can barely breathe, much less speak, and tears are pouring down my face, making it difficult to see anything. I swallow hard because I have to say something. Ihave to tell him how much this means to me, even if my words could never be enough. Because everything he’s just said to me has broken my heart open and rebuilt it all at once, piece by piece.

“All I want is to be with you,” I choke. “I love you so much. I love the way you see the best in me, the way you make me feel like the most special person in the world. Like a princess.”

Theo chuckles hoarsely, his lips twitching into a small smile. The more I speak, the more I find my voice, so the easier it gets. The words start to flood out of me so quickly I can barely breathe between them.

“I honestly don’t think I’ve ever known what real love is until I met you. How could I? Between my mom’s rollercoaster love life and the shit I put up with from Shawn, it’s probably one of the most obvious things in the world to everyone other than me. But I couldn’t see it until I met you and you started showing me that love is care. It’s in the little things, like cooking for me and making sure I eat. And supporting my dreams in every way you can. It’s believing in me.”

“I really do. You’re fucking amazing, Becca,” Theo says with a little laugh as he swipes the back of his hand across his face. “And I hope you see what I see.”

“I still have some work to do on that, but I’m starting to. And it’s all because of you. I don’t know who or what brought you into my life, or what I did to deserve you, but I’m done questioning it. Because whether or not I deserve you, I want you. With all of my heart.”

Theo stares up at me, his watery emerald eyes wide and hopeful. He squeezes my hand still locked in his. “Is that a yes?”

“It’s definitely a yes,” I answer, and he surges to his feet, pulling me into his arms and peppering me with kisses as he spins me around in the room’s streaming, beautiful light beams like we’re the winners on some sort of dancing competition. Myheart soars as the room whirls around me, and I give in to the moment, to the pure joy that’s flooding me.

It feels like a lifetime ago that my life as I knew it with Shawn fell apart. At the time, I really thought life was over for me, that I’d have to go crawling back to my mom in Canada with my tail between my legs and give up on every dream I had about building a better life for myself, the life I’d always wanted.

But little did I know life was just getting started. That the true dream was unfurling in front of my eyes. All of that had to happen to bring me here, to this beautiful moment with the man I love more than I’ll ever have the words to convey.

When we finally stop twirling, he sets me back on my feet and cups my face in his hands. “I want every day to feel like this for the rest of your life,” he says and leans forward to kiss me again like he can’t get enough.

But I cling to him and kiss him back because I feel the exact same way.

Chapter 46

Theo

I feel Becca’s heart thudding in her chest, and it matches the heavy pounding of mine. I can’t stop kissing her, can’t take my hands off her, because I’m afraid if we break contact, she’ll vanish, and I’ll wake up from this incredible dream and realize none of it was real. That my mind is playing a cruel trick on me.

But it has to be real. She has to be truly mine. I can’t imagine my life any other way. So I cup her face again and pull her in for another kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she whispers between lip locks, and her words light me up with desire. It’s not enough to tell her how much I love her. I need to show her. I need to make sure she feels it in every nerve of her body.

“You have no idea how much I missed you. Missed this,” I say as I steal another kiss. “I still feel you even when you aren’t around. It hurt in the weirdest way, like this dull ache that wouldn’t go away. Like a phantom limb. You were still there, I could still feel you, even though you were cut off.”

“Theo, I’m so sorry,” she says breathlessly as a fresh round of tears appear in her eyes. But I swipe them away because I don’t want her to feel anything but the love I have for her that’s overflowing from me. With her face still cupped in my hands,I look her right in her beautiful brown eyes that are sparkling from her tears and the soft light in the room.

“You don’t have to apologize. I understand, I really do. You were scared.”

“No, I do need to apologize. I just walked away from you, from everything you’ve done for me. And I know I hurt you. I can’t forgive myself for that.”

“You don’t have to because I already have.”

Becca makes a small noise in her throat and throws her arms around me. Again, I feel her heart hammering in her chest, racing just as hard as mine is.

I can’t lie, her walking away hurt like hell, but not in the way she thought it did. It wasn’t her leaving that hurt the most, it was that she thought I would abandon her and treat her like Kaplan did just because she couldn’t have kids.

But I’m not angry. After something like that, I don’t blame her for keeping it from me, and I don’t blame her for being scared that the same thing would happen with me when I found out the truth. And that’s exactly why we’re here. I knew that all the words in the world wouldn’t be enough to convince her that none of that mattered to me.

I had to prove it to her.

“You mean the world to me, Becca,” I whisper, my voice hoarse. “I would do anything and go anywhere for you. You’re everything I need. Everything.”

“I can’t believe you bought me a dance studio,” she breathes, letting out a shaky breath as she leans back to look into my eyes. “I’ve never had someone do anything like this before. You… youcare. About me, about my dreams. My future.”

“It’s all I care about.” I swallow, wrapping my arms more tightly around her. “All I want is for you to be happy, to be and do everything you’ve ever wanted.”

“I think I do.” She smiles despite the tears still streaming down her cheeks, looking more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her. “I have you.”

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