Page 149 of Renegade Rift

And to write that.

What the fuck kind of love connoisseur does he think he is?

“Hey asshole, look up,” he says from beside me, no longer standing in the box.

I follow his instructions, and immediately, every ounce of my anger dissipates.

There, standing where Carson was moments ago, is Juliet. In an orange sundress that matches the stitching on my uniform, she’s smiling with her arm held out toward me. Hanging from her finger is what looks like a necklace with some kind of dark crystal at the end.

“Love?” I whisper, like if I say it any louder, it might turn out she’s just a figment of my imagination.

Her lips pull into a smile and she nods. “I can’t commit to a stone inside a ring just yet, but I figured finding a rock for you might suffice. One you can take with you when you leave home.”

It’s all the encouragement I need to close the space between us and wrap her up in my arms. She lets out a whimpered sigh and leans in, the curve of her body fitting perfectly against mine. Like it was always meant to be there.

“I missed you, Juliet.”

Juliet tenses, and I fear maybe she didn’t want me to touch her like this in front of a stadium full of people.

“Sorry,” I mutter, untangling myself from her. “I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“No, that’s not—I missed you too,” she admits almost sheepishly. “The crystal was just poking into my stomach.”

“Oh.” I laugh as I reach down and finger what I can now see is an obelisk shaped dark red stone wrapped in a thin leather strap to keep it attached. “It’s garnet,” I say, borderline embarrassed by how much I know about crystals, thanks to this woman.

“It symbolizes passionate love.”

“And is that what we have?” The words slip out—vulnerable, broken and fearful.

“I wouldn’t have shown up and—how did you put it?—fucked with your superstition, if I didn’t think there was something there.”

“Shit, that’s not what I meant. It’s just?—”

Juliet laughs and the sound of it is like hitting a home run. “I know, Ford.”

“Do you mean it?” I ask, almost wary of her answer. “Do you love me? Because if you give me that stone, there are no take backs.”

“Ford McCoy.” She pauses and takes my hands in hers, and I have to ignore the fact that the way we’re standing is oddly similar to two people getting married. Add in the garnet and my teammates, who have now gathered along the dugout wall, giggling like schoolgirls, I’d say this is looking more and more like a planned moment.

My eyes slide over to Carson, who is clapping his hands in front of his chest between nudges to Bishop’s arm.

Yup. Totally planned.

And even though I’ve got a million questions, I’m hanging on her every word.

Juliet tips her head and looks up at me, her gaze sliding from my lips up to my eyes. “I can’t promise you forever yet. I can’t even promise you that I won’t have moments where I get scared and need your reassurance, or for you to teach me a lesson or two. But I can say with every confidence that I love you, and I want all the things with you.”

“Tell me,” I mutter, searching for a moment for my mind to catch up with my racing heart.

She gives my hands a gentle squeeze and whispers low enough that only we can hear her words. “I want lazy mornings with you. I want Lodhi to continue curling up on your chest even though we both know he still hates you a little. I want holidays and birthdays with the friends who have become family. I want to explore my body with you and make yours weep for me. I want the safety of your arms to land when the past creeps in and days are hard. But most of all, I want to show you the love and kindness you’ve always shown me. I want you to date me and only me.”

Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

A million times, yes.

But of course, that’s not what I say.

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