Page 136 of A Ballad of Betrayal and Beauty

I smile. “Like having to choose between either of you might kill me.”

CHAPTER39

The Search Is Over

DUSTY

“Hey there, gorgeous.”

I open my eyes and nearly squeak when they lock on Joel. I wrap my arms around him and squeeze. He grunts, and I scramble off him.

“Oh my god,” I say, checking him over. “I’m so sorry.”

But that smile . . . oh, that smile will be the death of me. “Don’t be. Best thing I’ve ever felt is that hug.”

I’m all aflutter. There’s so much I want to say, but before I can even begin, his finger touches my lips.

“It’s okay,” he says softly. “You don’t need to explain yourself.”

I shake my head. “No! No, I do. You have to let me tell you why?—”

“Key told me.”

My heart sinks. “He—what did he say?”

“That you love me.”

My eyes flutter closed. I don’t know why I thought Key would try to keep us apart. A part of me will always jump to the worst possible conclusion. But he loves his friend like a brother. He’d never hurt him. He’d never hurt me.

“And,” he continues, “that you’ve been here since the accident?—”

“I couldn’t leave?—”

“And you haven’t eaten anything for fear you’d miss my waking up.”

“It’s been a rough twenty-four hours.”

He chuckles, the dimples I love so much appearing in his cheeks. I reach forward and press my hand to his warm face.

“I thought I might never see you again,” I croak.

He turns his face to kiss my palm. “I’m okay now, but you also need to take care of yourself.”

“I love you.”

I prayed for the chance to tell him, and I’ll be damned if I don’t follow through now. I’ll tell him every minute of every day from here on out until life pulls us apart forever.

“I love you too,” he says back. His voice is clear, like there’s no chance of him changing his mind.

My muscles ache, but I let the smile split my face anyway, burying myself against him as he does his best to hold me. And for one spectacular moment, everything is perfect.

“Dusty?”

“Hmm?”

“I need to tell you something important, okay?”

My throat tightens. Oh god. All this time I’ve been worried about choosing between them. But what if they don’t chooseme?

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