Page 48 of Match Made in the Maldives

“No, I don’t needyou. I’m not someone you get to push around anymore, and you don’t get to treat me like shit. I’ve found people who value me and give me respect, so yeah, you might be my brother, but that’s by blood only. Your petty comments and crappy attitude and any other stuff you wish you could say to me, you can take to anyone else who will listen, but I’m not here for it. Understood?”

He glowers at me and Lou, sneering as he says, “Fuckin’…whatever.”

He storms down the hall toward the hospital room and I exhale. Dealing with his bullshit drains me, but seeing Lou’s smile beaming at me fills me up.

“You were incredible just now,” she says.

“Me? You’re the spunky one.” I push some errant pieces of hair away from her face. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t—”

“No, let me. I stayed up the whole flight back, trying to come up with the right thing to say, and I have nothing except I’m so, so sorry.” Her hand grasps mine with a squeeze. “I am crazy about you, Finn. Every little bit I got of you on this trip made me want more. I got a bit scared, too, and had it in my head to move fast because you received that job offer, and—”

“Which I’m not taking, by the way.”

“I kept pressuring you, even though I get why you needed time. Getting involved isn’t just about me, but my whole family. I grew selfish. Wanted you to want me, like I want you.”

“Idowant you. I want you, always, all the time. You—” I cup her face in my hands. “It destroyed me, thinking I couldn’t giveyou what you asked. Like I wasn’t enough. So I got scared and stubborn, and I said something stupid, which I didn’t mean, I swear.”

“I know. I knew that and I still pushed.”

“And you should have. What you and I have, it’s real, Lou.” I kiss a tear trailing down her cheek. “This whole time, I was worried about fucking it up, and all that made me do was actually fuck it up.”

She lets out a watery laugh, and I kiss the sound from her lips, again and again. She sinks into me, gripping my shirt at the back like she’ll never let me go. Lou traces some kisses down my jawline, and each one is a promise.I’m here for you. I’ll take care of you. You’re enough.

“Thank you,” I whisper to her, and she nods, water drops clinging to her eyelashes. “You came here right from the airport?”

“Mhmm. Everyone did.”

I direct my gaze down the hall and the Moores startle to life, each picking something to focus on that isn’t me and Lou. Dave stares at a ceiling light, Cass points to an object in the other direction, and Mel pulls out her phone so fast it flies out of her grip and to the ground.

“Think they know?”

“About us?” she asks, her mouth twisting. “This is a little suspicious.”

“A little.” I smirk at her.

“Also, I told them I’m in love with you. That might have tipped them off too.”

“Lou.” My chest feels like a cannonball slammed into me.

“I love you, Finn. All of you, simply because you’re you. I think I have for a long time.”

I smile, grab her face again, and press my lips to hers. “I love you,” I murmur over and over against her mouth. For each one,she says it back. I must say hundreds to make up for all the time I’ve loved her and never once said so.

A hushed cheer sounds from the hallway, and we both glance over to see Lou’s family—my family—watching us.

“Okay,” Lou says to them. “You can come over now.”

They rush down the hall, smiling, and in Mel’s case, squealing, to bombard us with hugs. Despite all the frustrations and concerns and Blake interactions over the past twenty-four hours, I’m floating because I have a person—or really a small army of people—holding me up, even during such a challenging time. They know everything about me, and they’re still here to support me and to love me.

Andshe’shere, and she loves me.

“So whatcha need, hon?” Betsey asks.

“Yeah, tell me,” Lou says, encircling me with her arms. “What can I do?”

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