Page 101 of Known By You
His smiling face sobered slightly, and he stole another kiss before setting me down. “Please say whatever you need to.”
I took his hand and led him to the couch, where we sat side by side. I kept his warm hand clasped in mine as I spoke.
“When I left, I was genuinely hoping you’d ask me to stay.”
Pain lanced across his face. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve. But I didn’t want you to feel anything but glad to go back to the life you’ve built. You have an incredible career you’ve fought for, and I didn’t want to be someone trying to take away from that in any way.”
Ugh, this man. He was so deeply good and loving. “Thank you.”
He huffed.
“But also, I need you to know, especially in light of what you just told me, that I’ve just resigned my position and am no longer living in Europe as of about twenty-four hours from now.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
Kenny
This woman would likely never fail to surprise me.
I might’ve wished for something like this, but it did not compute.
“I’m sorry… what?” I truly didn’t fully understand what she was saying.
She grinned, shifting so she straddled my waist and cupped my face. “I love you, Kenny Carmichael, and I want to be with you. I’m tired of doing this job and tired of toiling in isolation. I don’t know exactly what comes next, but these last few months have given me a picture and it’s so beautiful.”
I could barely let her finish before surging forward and kissing her beautiful face. Good grief, had she really just said that to me? Was I hallucinating somewhere over the ocean and I’d end up arriving here to find a different version of this story?
If so, please flight attendant ma’am or sir, do not wake me.
“I love you, too. So freaking much,” I said between kisses. I pulled back. “I wanted to tell you, but?—”
Her index finger pressed against my lips. “I know you have things to say to me, but I’m going to talk first, okay?”
My heart flipped because I didnotmind bossy, in charge Liz, but I also loved that she wanted to say her piece. And I wanted to hear it.
“Alright then. Please proceed.” I settled my hands on her waist and promised myself I would keep them there and resist the temptation to touch her anywhere else until she was done.
She grinned, then cleared her throat and regained her composure. “I haven’t been happy in a long time—probably years, if I’m honest. You showed me not only what dating someone wonderful could be like, but also what life in a community looked like. And along with wanting you, kind of desperately…”
She gripped my shirt and tugged at it.
You will not kiss her again until she’s done talking. No. Don’t do it. This is what you’ve been training for!
She grinned, no doubt seeing the heat flash in my eyes.
“I also wanted that place. Those mountains. I want to call my sister while living in the same time zone and meet her for lunch on a workday. See my dad laughing and being a freaking grandpa to his stepkids’ children. I want the Silver Ridge Romance Readers official membership designation, and I want to know every store owner by name.”
This woman…I broke my rules and hugged her tight, wanting to cradle her close and tuck her near me until the end of time.
Okay, well, actually I had a few other things in mind, but that was a good start.
She inched away but left her hands on my shoulders, pressed a kiss to my mouth, then leaned back.
“What I don’t totally understand is whatwedo next.”
I hummed. “I have some very specific ideas of what we do next.”
She grinned again and I chuckled, then settled back against the couch. “I resign my job as the European post right after we go back to Silverton and tell Kit the good news.”
