Page 64 of Reunion With Benefits

She sighed. “No, I agreed because I love you.”

His mind went blank and his mouth went dry. He was pretty sure he made that up in his head. There was no way she said those words. “What?”

“There, I said it. I love you.” She threw up her hands then let them drop to her sides again. “You ran out on me, and I am terrified you will do it again, but that’s the truth. I love you, you big moron.”

He was even fine with the last part. “Abby—”

“I believe in you even though you don’t believe in yourself.”

His brain finally signaled his legs to move. In a few steps, he was in front of her, had his hands on her waist and pulled her in closer to him. “Don’t stop.”

She frowned at him. “What?”

They really did need to work on their communication skills. He decided to start now. “I can’t deny that there’s this whirling sensation inside me. When things blow up and a fight that could shred everything looms, I go. It stops the arguing and I can catch my breath. I’ve been using that defense mechanism since I was a kid.”

She started to pull away. “Right.”

“Not with you.” He hugged her even tighter. Pressed his lips against her eyebrow in a kiss that was meant mostly to soothe her but ended up calming him. When he pulled back, some of the wariness had left her eyes. “See, every other time, I walked away and the feelings, the churning, the reason I fled in the first place, disappeared. With you, the need only got stronger.”

Her fingers clenched against his forearms. “You didn’t come back to me. I waited for some sign. Any sign.”

“I felt broken, Abby. I knew I had already fallen for you and then my dad...” Mentioning him could ruin everything. He wasn’t the problem between them now. Not really. “Forget that. This was my fault. I left and I missed you every single day. I couldn’t visit my brother because I worried I would see you.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip. For a few seconds, she didn’t say anything and he held his breath...waiting.

When nothing happened, he tried again. “It was a crappy thing to leave and then to make you wait. You suffered. I suffered. I don’t want to do it anymore.”

She brushed her fingertip over his bottom lip. “Can you break the cycle?”

She’d asked the question but he sensed she was starting to believe. To hope.

“Before you told me about the possible pregnancy, I wanted to tell you how I felt.” He nodded toward the living room. “Sitting right there on that couch, I was going to tell you I loved you. That I’d figured out I would always love you. That you were worth sticking around and fighting through the mess.”

Tears gathered in her eyes. “Spence.”

He rushed to get the rest out. “I didn’t tell you then because I didn’t want you to think I did it because I had to, but I’ll tell you now.” He rested his forehead against hers and inhaled. “Baby or not, I want to build a life with you. That gnawing sense of wanting to bolt will likely always be with me, but I don’t want to leave you. Ever.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Sounds like I’d have to go with you then.”

The words were muffled in his neck, but he heard them. Also picked up on the happiness in her tone. How much lighter she sounded.

“That also works.” He lifted her head and stared down into her eyes. “But really, I love my brothers. I’ve even gotten used to the office, which is nothing short of a miracle.”

She smiled. “What are you saying?”

He recognized hope when he saw it. It soared through him, too. “Take a chance on me. I know I’m a risk, but—”

“Stop.” She shrugged as she hugged him close. “It’s too late. My life is already bound up with yours. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

“I love the sound of that.” He kissed her. Let his lips linger over hers, loving the feel of her body pressed against his.

“Good, because I plan on making it a requirement for the next fifty years or so.”

He didn’t try to fight the smile. “Then we should start now.”

“I like your style.”

* * *

---