Page 88 of Hard Knock Hero

I lifted my head, telling the runaway muscle in my chest to get ahold of itself. “What are you asking me?” It was possible that I’d just blown up my life in Hartley by breaking him out of jail. To save Aiden’s life, I had been willing to risk it all. Yet I was still determined to fight for my place here. “If you want me to leave Colorado…”

But he was shaking his head. “No. You love Hartley, and I would never ask you to give that up.” His thumb caressed my cheekbone. “But what if I stayed?”

Everything went still. I could’ve sworn the world had stopped turning. “You would stay in Hartley?”

His eyes searched mine. “I never expected this to happen. I thought I had the life I wanted, and I didn’t think that would change. But then I met you. I saw Hartley through your eyes. And it’s different. With you, I’m different. It’s confusing as hell.”

“I know,” I said, laughing as tears filled my eyes.

Sirens blared in the distance.

“We need to move,” Trace said. “This has takenwaytoo long.” He pushed Scarlett to her Jeep.

But Aiden didn’t move. His grip on me tightened. “Jessi, I can’t promise this is going to work. I could still hurt you, even if that’s the last thing I want to do. But I’d be hurting us both right now if I left without you.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. Kept his lips there. “We can take things as slow as you need, and you don’t have to decide this minute, but I do have to go to Steamboat. Please come with me. Ineedyou with me.”

The sirens were getting louder. Scarlett was backing away toward her vehicle. Trace shifted his weight from foot to foot. Any moment, a police car could turn onto this road.

But Aiden stood there, all his attention on me. Waiting for my response. Like this was the only thing that mattered.Us. My decision.

“Yes,” I blurted. “I’ll come with you.”

A grin split Aiden’s face. The biggest I’d ever seen. Not just on him, but maybe on anyone.

“But I don’t have anything. Clothes or a toothbrush…”

“We’ll get whatever else you need.” Aiden laced our fingers together. “Later.”

Scarlett dashed for her Jeep and grabbed my purse from the front seat. I’d had it with me when I went to the station, and Scarlett had been keeping track of it for me. At least I had that much. My ID and phone. Scarlett gave it to me, followed by a hug. She was beaming.

I turned to my brother. Trace frowned, but he didn’t try to argue with me. “Can you deal with things here in Hartley until I’m home?” I asked.

“I’ll do what I can. I’ll talk to Owen and make sure nobody’s looking for you. Same things we’d already planned.” His eyes shifted to Aiden. “You’ll bring her back like she asked? You’re going to try to make this work in Hartley?”

My brother’s stare said a lot more than that. And Aiden nodded like he understood.

“You have my word.” Aiden held out his hand, and Trace took it. They shook.

“Then get the hell out of here.” Trace pushed us toward Aiden’s truck, and we ran, hand in hand.

* * *

The engine roared as we took the entrance ramp for the highway.

I couldn’t believe I was doing this. Running away with Aiden. It was the most impulsive, crazy-romantic thing I had ever done. And I knew all the way down deep that it was what I wanted.

Aiden kept glancing over at me. He was driving with one hand on the wheel, the other tangled with mine and resting on my thigh. “Did you mean it?” I asked. “You would actually move to Hartley?”

“If you didn’t believe me, why did you say yes?” Aiden’s calm demeanor had returned. His eyes were smirking.

“I believed you. I believed…that I was willing to take the chance.”

He lifted my hand and kissed it, eyes darting between me and the road. “I meant every single word. I knew if I left without you, I would regret it. That’s not my style. Only thing I could do was turn around.”

He made it sound simple. As if he’d been calm and collected the whole time. But I’d seen that look in his eyes when he’d pulled up in his truck. I’d heard it in his voice.

“You said you need me.”

His thumb moved over my knuckles. “I do. I need you, and it snuck up on me. I never claimed to be a genius. But once I finally figured it out, I knew what I had to do.”

---