Page 94 of Rival Hearts

“You love me?” My voice was hoarse with emotion. “You don’t have to—”

She put her finger to my lips. “I want to. I’ve wanted to say it for a while. I think I’ve loved you for a long time, but every day you’ve been back here, my love has gotten stronger. More.”

I laid her on the bed and stretched out beside her, my head resting against my palm. She traced the edge of my face, and I grinned. “You and me.”

A smile lit her up, and I saw the glow Jim had talked about. “You and me. Weird, right? Were we ever really rivals?”

I smoothed the strands of her hair which had gone astray. “We just got confused about what we were fighting for.”

Her smile faded. “Thanks for telling people to vote for me.”

“I’mvoting for you.” I splayed my free hand against my chest. “We both know you’re the best candidate.”

“Are you going to drop out?”

“Not unless you want me to. Otherwise, I’ll see it through. A lot of people put time and effort into helping me.” I owed it to Kelvin at the very least. When no one else had been willing to go against Maggie, Kelvin had agreed even when he’d thought I was making a mistake, entering the race for the wrong reasons.

“Ah, yes. Your harem of women.” Her lips twisted in amusement. She scanned my face, the amusement replaced with something softer. “You wrote me a song.”

I kissed her. She looped her arms around my neck and tugged me tight. When I drew back, my forehead touched hers. “I wrote you a whole album. Maybe two.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s been—being with you has turned the tap back on. The music is there again, racing out of me onto the sheets. I guess we’ll see if it’s any good.”

“I liked tonight’s song even before I heard all of it.” Her fingers toyed with the tips of my hair. “You’ve been whistling it.”

“For a couple weeks, yeah.”

She twisted locks of my hair, lost in thought. “Kelvin’s video of you has over a million views already. I think I’m only a thousand or so of those.”

“You watched it that many times?”

“Mostly the part where you said you loved meso fucking much.” She brushed my cheek with her thumb. “The words filled my heart. You looked like you meant them.”

“Every word.” My voice was gruff. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone but you.”

“Kinda scares me a little.” Her worried gaze met mine.

“That I love you this much?”

“No.” She shook her head and offered a fleeting smile. “That I loveyouthat much. My dad just died, and with the way I feel, I just don’t know if I could take losing someone else.”

I looked down at her, knowing the struggle. I was sure I’d been going through the same thing in my mind for years. Letting people in meant exposing yourself to risk. When you knew how deep the pain could run, how vicious the wound, protecting yourself became more important than anything.

But I’d never regretted how much I’d loved my dad, only that I hadn’t gotten more time with him. Deep down, I hadn’t regretted letting Maggie get close either, just the result. I was gunning for a different outcome this time.

“If you could give up the pain, would you give up the memories?” I kissed her forehead and gave her space to think.

“No.” Her voice was thick with tears. “No.”

I searched her face. “Then let’s make some really great memories, so any pain is worth it.”

Tears slipped down her cheeks, and I scooped them up with my thumbs. “I don’t know how you went from the guy who caused me problems to the one solving them.”

“I pulled my head outta my ass. It was warm there but kinda lonely.”

She laughed through her tears and pushed my shoulder. “You’re still gross.” With two fingers, she swept away the last of the moisture on her cheeks. “I’m sorry I’ve been so distant.”

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