Page 72 of Side Out

I nod frantically, and Theo is up off his knee and in front of me in a matter of seconds. Holding my face in his hands, he asks, “Yes?”

“Yes,” I say breathlessly, before he’s crashing his lips to mine.

The two of us kiss so deeply, so intensely, that I know nothing will ever compare to this moment right here.

All too soon, though, he pulls his mouth from mine. “Oh, one more thing.”

“What else could there possibly be?” I ask with a laugh.

“After you graduate in the spring… and if it’s something you would want…. We’re moving here.”

I don’t think I heard that right. “W-what did you just say?”

“Billings has a division one college. I called. They have an athletic training position available for the next school year. Your mom said we could stay up here until we find a place. And you can work an IT job from anywhere. And if you want to do that and work on the ranch with your dad, that’s more than possible.”

“Theo, why would you?—”

“Because I saw how at peace you were when you came back from being here all summer. I see how you light up whenever you talk to your family. And in the thirty minutes we’ve been here I’ve never seen you look more… morewhole. And besides, the only thing that’s worth me staying in Pensacola for is you. And if here is where you want to be, then I’ll be right here with you.”

Suddenly, the only thing I want to say is—“I love you.”

Theo’s eyes widen, and he lets out a ragged breath. “You love me?”

“Yeah, Theo. I love you.” It’s me who’s kissing him now, and I pour everything I have into it, because I love Theodore Young.

Despite all of the reasons that I shouldn’t… I really fucking love him.

“So is that a yes, too?” he mumbles against my lips.

“Hell yes that’s a yes,” I answer breathlessly. “But… who’s going to tell Clay?”

Theo rolls his eyes and places his hands on the center of my chest. “Yeah, we’re so not talking about Clay right now.”

Then, my soon-to-be-still husband pushes us toward the bed.

The Good I’ll Do - Zach Bryan

CHAPTER45

WEDDING FESTIVITIES

JACKSON

“Say it again,” ?*Theo mumbles against my mouth before kissing me once more, ripping his lips away. His hands find the hem of my shirt, but he doesn’t move. His eyes locked on mine.

“I love you,” I tell him softly. He bites his bottom lip and lifts my shirt over my head. Once my arms are free of the sleeves, I reach out, take his glasses off, and gently set them on the nightstand beside the bed. “I love you,” I say again before running my lips along his jaw. “I love you.” Then down and across his neck. “I love you.” And back up the other side until my lips ghost against the shell of his ear. “Theodore Young, I fucking love you.”

He lets out a wanton groan and pushes me backward so my back lands on the mattress. Theo climbs on top of me, straddling my waist with his legs. The two of us kiss one another with a hunger like I’ve never experienced. It’s even different from the first time we had sex. This time it doesn’t feel like a bomb waiting to go off from months and months of built up tension. No. Right now… there’s a different kind of passion. One filled with love and yearning. The kind of passion I’ve wanted all of my life but was starting to think I would have to be happy to live without. The kind of passion I hope I get to experience every day until the day I die.

The kind of passion I only ever want to experience with him.

My husband.

The object of all my desires.

The man who vexes me more than anyone I’ve ever known.

The man who quite literally turned my world upside down in the most unexpected way.

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