Page 79 of Stolen Goods
“You painted my letters,” she said softly, looking down as she gently ran her finger over the edge of one image. Thad couldn’t look away from her face. He was transfixed. “An evening walk along the Seine. The rolling hills of Tuscany. The Great Wall of China. The beaches of Phuket. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I—” Thad took a step closer, shaking his head. Addison stood as he closed the distance. Before he knew what he was doing, he’d lifted his palm to her cheek to run his thumb across her skin. Thad was struck dumb. He couldn’t think of a single thing to say. His fingers found her dark curls, tugging at the end. “You kept your hair short.”
Hair. I’m talking about hair.
“I guess I did.” She laughed softly, as though having the same thought, and reached up to cover his hand with her own. Lacing their fingers together, Addison held on tight.
An electric spike pulsed through him, shocking him back to life. He felt her touch all the way in his toes. “What are you doing here?”
The light in her eyes dimmed. “Do you—do you want me to leave?”
“No!” Thad practically shouted, and then swallowed, grinning. Softer this time, he repeated, “No. I thought about telling you a hundred times— About asking you to— About—” He broke off. Why was writing letters so much easier than baring his soul in person? When he wrote, the words came easily. Well, easier. But now he was tongue-tied and twisted up, when he knew exactly what he wanted to say. He’d known for a year. Three words, just three simple words, yet they were the most difficult to say. “I—I’m happy you’re here. And I would’ve told you myself. I should have. I just, I never wanted you to be here out of obligation. I didn’t want you to be here, but want to be somewhere else…if that makes sense?”
“Thad,” Addison murmured, stepping closer. He sucked in a sharp breath. Their thighs gently grazed. Her breasts pressed into his chest. When he looked down, meeting her soft gaze, all he saw was Addison. She was everything. She was the whole world, in sharp, burning focus, and he didn’t want to look away. “This is where I want to be. I know we never spoke about it, and I know there’s still a lot to figure out. But I’ve spent the past year jumping from place to place, seeing every inch of the world I ever imagined seeing, and you know what I realized? The only place I want to be is where you are.”
“I’ll be wearing this ankle bracelet for the next four years,” he said, giving her the out, waiting for her to take it. “I’ll be stuck here, in this apartment. But you don’t have to be.”
The corner of her lip lifted and Addison glanced around, raising her eyebrows. “It’s not so bad. A little stark, maybe. Could use a woman’s touch.”
“Addison,” he whispered, a pained edge to his voice. This wasn’t a joke. He was still a criminal serving his time. Still not good enough for her.
“My stuff is in Jo’s apartment, so I’ll either be staying here, or staying there, but I am staying.” Addison shrugged, unaware of the way his heart pounded in his chest, so full of hope it hurt. “We’re opening a bakery together, the two of us and McKenzie—we’ve been trying to agree on a name for the past three months. She wantsJust Desserts. I thinkSerendipity Sweets, because, well, a little bit of fate had to have been at play in all this. McKenzie thinksThree’s Company, which I think is cute, but I’m not sure what the trademark implications will be.”
Thad blinked, incredulous. “And you’ve been figuring all this out without telling me?”
Addison arched a brow as a wicked grin spread across her lips. “Believe it or not, my whole life doesn’t revolve around you. I’m a strong, independent woman, and I don’t need a man.” She paused, glancing down, suddenly unsure. “But, well, I’d like one. A specific one…” Thad put his finger under her chin, forcing her to look up as she whispered one last word. “You.”
His defenses broke.
Thad wasn’t good enough for her. It was a fact. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t right for her. He’d learned something during all their time apart—choice mattered. There were choices he wished he’d never made. Choices he would never change. Choices that defined him. Choices he’d learned to move past. Choice was a powerful thing. And if Addison—a smart, capable woman who knew him better than anyone else in the world—was choosing him, maybe he was worth something.
Now he had a choice to make. He could choose to walk away and regret this moment for the rest of his life. Or he could choose to believe her. He could choose to spend the rest of his days honoring her faith and her trust, and proving he deserved her. He could choose his heart.
“I love you, Addison.”
He couldn’t stop the words from spilling through his lips.
He didn’t want to.
Addison wrapped her arms around his shoulders, closing the distance between them. Thad held his breath, waiting, hoping, dreaming. She pressed her lips to his jaw, kissing her way closer to his ear. Her mouth hovered, deliberately stalling, lengthening the moment so he would understand he wasn’t taking something from her, but that she was giving it willingly. His entire body trembled, entranced by her touch, captivated by this woman who’d found him worthy of her heart and who’d stolen his in the process.
“I love you, Thad.”
He closed his arms around her in a vicelike grip, then lifted her feet from the floor and spun her around. Addison yelped with glee and held on tight, peppering kisses to his neck, his cheek, his mouth.
“I love you. I love you. I love you.”
Every time she spoke, his heart burned. The cracks closed. The breaks healed. The walls came down and the doors opened. When he kissed her, he tasted freedom and hope and all his dreams coming true. He wrapped her in his arms. No plans to run. No desire to flee. No wish but to never let her go.
***
