Page 63 of Love and Loathing

Okay, Alex wasn’t sure he liked where this was going, but she just kept talking again. This was clearly going to be a thing with her.

“Somewhere in these past few months of loathing you—or who I thought you were—I found you, the real you. The guy who dances with the one girl no one else will; the guy who will sign autographs and be gracious even though all he wants to do is hide, not be seen; the guy who came here—” She lifted her arms and signaled to the house. “—and picked up shifts so his men wouldn’t be short, and all that while still working a day job; the guy who would go to bat for a small town so that it wouldn’t get turned into a big town, and who would risk his own job and money to do it; and the guy who would drop everything to help me and my family look for a wayward sister.”

Okay, change of mind. He definitely liked where this was going.

Her breath hitched, and she grabbed on to his shirt and dropped her head to his chest. “I love you so much, and I didn’t know it was possible to feel this way about someone. I think Fish in the Sea was right, and we are ninety-eight percent compatible.”

He grinned. So she had seen that they’d been matched. Tears wet his shirt. With gentle pressure, he lifted her chin so she’d look him in the eyes.

“And I just want you to stay,” she concluded. “Forever.”

The depth of emotion coursing through him overwhelmed him. She’d seen him. Seen the real him. The him most the world had no clue about—even his mother sometimes. And Jessie loved the real him. Wanted the real him.

She sniffled. “Say something.”

“So I guess you like me, then.”

She glared at him, and he chuckled.

“That’s lucky, because I feel exactly the same way. And I want you to stay forever too,” he said, and he made a wide gesture with his hand to indicate the house. “Here. With me. I want to marry you and live in this house you love, and I want to fill the rooms with a family of our own.”

She gave a watery chuckle. “And a big dog?”

“And a big dog—but not a Labradoodle.”

She laughed. “Deal.”

He smiled. “If I kiss you right now, are you going to run away?”

She leaned back from him. “What?”

“Last time I tried to kiss you here, you ran away.”

She pulled out of his arms. “No, I didn’t.”

“You did.” He grinned. “We were out on the porch, and I leaned in and you got up and ran away.”

“I’d just had a garlic pizza,” she snapped. “I got home and Cecilia ran away, and you showed up, and then we were here, and I hadn’t brushed my teeth. I was being considerate.”

“Likely story.”

“Ugh!” She turned to leave, but he wasn’t having that.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He caught her arm and spun her back to him.

Her hands landed on his shoulders, and he moved in quickly, stopping abruptly just a hair’s breadth away from planting his lips on hers. Her eyes dilated, and her breathing sped up. Locking gazes, he leaned forward and slowly brushed his lips against hers from right to left. Her eyes fluttered shut, and he grinned against the soft skin at the side of her mouth, then moved in and gave her the kiss he’d been dreaming of for months. He pulled her flush against him and relished in her warmth and softness. He took his time, devouring her petal-soft lips with slow and firm pressure. She moaned and pushed her hands into his hair. And that was when he knew he was truly lost to this woman. She owned him.

Minutes or hours later—he had no idea—he pulled back and cupped her cheek. Her eyes were still shut, her lips slightly swollen and parted—she’d never been more beautiful to him than in this moment.

“Jessie, look at me,” he said, rubbing his thumb light over her rosy cheek.

Her eyes slowly opened, then batted as she tried to compose herself. He smiled at her and took a step back. She wobbled, and he hurried to steady her again with a hand at her hip.

She shook her head to clear it. “Alex?”

“You okay?”

She nodded.

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