Page 87 of The One for Forever

“Can I say something?” I ask.

“Yes.” Her mouth flattens. Like she’s bracing for me to argue with her.

“I love you.”

“You—what?”

I brush my lips over hers. “I love you. I’m lucky to call you mine.”

She takes a stuttering breath. “I love you too. I’ve loved you for so long, and I never thought I’d ever hear that back.”

There was a time I didn’t think I’d hear those words again, either. It’s a lovely thing, sometimes, to be proven wrong. “Then I’ll have to say it over and over. I’m in love with you, Quinn.”

Who says I can’t talk about my feelings?

I keep repeating the words, kissing her in between. There are tears in her eyes, but I know it’s not despair. It’s this too-big sensation of knowing you’ve found the right puzzle piece and slotted perfectly into place.

“You’ll go to war with me?” she asks. “Because that’s what I want. That asshole who just tried to run us off the road was getting his orders from somewhere. I don’t have evidence of thatyet, but I know it in my gut. There’s a reason Pete Diamond lied. An explanation forallof this. I’m going to find out what it is.”

The idiot driving the hatchback in that creepy mask made a crucial mistake. And so did whoever’s been pulling the strings behind the scenes. They could’ve chosen to take that not-guilty verdict and let their vendetta against Quinn go. But instead, they’ve solidified her resolve. Given her the fire she needs to gather herself up and go on.

I like to think I’ve played a role in that, too. By being here for her.

But that adrenaline rush cleared away any trace of destructive self pity. My lady is ready to fight.

Where else would I be except right next to her?

“I would be honored to go to war with you. No need to keep advocating. You won me over at least ten minutes ago, counselor. I’m reporting for duty.”

“At ease.” She pats my cheek. “Take me home, Foxy.”

We both laugh softly. I know which home she means. My house here in West Oaks, where we’ve been staying the last couple of weeks since returning from the beach house. The house that’s starting to feel likeours.

I have to admit,when Quinn talked about going to war, I had certain expectations. I imagined I would be the five-star general to Quinn’s commander-in-chief.

Instead, I’m baking frozen pizzas in my kitchen while she conference-calls with Lana and her fellow attorneys.

But that’s all right. I’m currently on doting-boyfriend duty, and my secret is that I don’t mind it one bit. Though I’mnot going to admit that to the other guys the next time we’re shooting the shit at headquarters after a sparring session.

There’s a knock at the back door, which then cracks open slightly. “Can I come in?” Cliff asks.

“Yep,” I say. “All clear.” That’s the closest I can get to making a joke about what happened at the beach house. Judging by my son’s bright red face, he’s not ready to make light of it.

“Uh, hey Dad,” Cliff says, barely looking at me.

His girlfriend Lia is right behind him, followed by Lark and Danny. I called Cliff about the disastrous trial verdict, and he organized more of Quinn’s friends to come here and cheer her up.

I greet the others, asking what they’d like to drink, while Lark and Lia unload the snacks and desserts they’ve brought. “Quinn’s on the phone in the living room with DA Marchetti at the moment,” I say. “She’ll finish up soon.”

Danny grabs the beer I hold out. “We heard about what happened after the trial ended. The car chase down Ocean Lane? I saw the news footage. How your Bennett Security teammate stopped the perp with a PIT maneuver. A lot of shit’s gone down in West Oaks over the years, but dang.” He whistles.

“It was memorable.” It turns out a news chopper was in the air and caught the ending of the chase. Leon is milking it for all it’s worth. He’s going to be crowing about that perfectly executed PIT maneuver for months.

Once again, we caught the suspect in the attack, but he claims to have acted alone. Just another devotee of Amber Printz who was incensed at her unfair persecution. Where are all these wackos coming from? When is this going to end? I want to see Quinn safe and smiling. I want to know she can go for a run without fearing who’ll come after her.

I’m ready to start our life together. But we can’t. Not until this is finished.

“Not so fun for me and Quinn though,” I add.

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