Page 66 of Entwined Hearts
“Just the guy I wanted to talk to!” Austin said as he answered.
I looked Savannah dead in the eye as I said, “Hey. Consider this my formal announcement of retirement.” Her eyes went wide, her jaw dropping with a gasp. “It’s been great working with you, Austin, and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me these last ten years, but my priorities have changed, and I needto focus on what matters to me most. I’ll be in touch about a final ride.”
“Weston, we can—” I hung up. I put my phone in my pocket while Savannah stared at me like I’d just shot someone.
“Tell me again that you aren’t worth it, Savannah, I fucking dare you.” I took her face in my hands, making her look at me. “I let you walk away once, and it nearly killed me. I’d be a fool to let you slip through my fingers again. You are the love of my life. My everything. The air I breathe. The blood in my veins. Nothing could ever come close to you. Nothing could ever replace you. And don’t youeversay that you aren’t worthy of anything again. Do you understand me?”
A tear rolled down her cheek as she nodded. “Yes.”
And just like that, I wasn’t a bull rider anymore. But it didn’t feel as terrifying as I thought it would. It felt like a new beginning, an opportunity to figure out who I was. And as long as I had Savannah, I knew everything would be okay.
20
Savannah
I couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. All I could do was stare at Wes and the wild look in his eyes, like what he did just hit him. “You just…” I blinked back my tears. “You just did that.”
“Yeah,” was all he said. He was pale, and his hands were shaking on my face.
I clasped his wrists, feeling his pulse thumping erratically against my fingers. “How do you feel?”
He swallowed roughly, breathing hard. “I-I don't know. I think I’m having an out-of-body experience.”
I stroked his forearms. “That’s okay.”
He let go of my face. “Oh fuck,” he groaned, doubling over, his hands on his knees. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I just did that.”
My hand slid up his back, rubbing gently. “It’s a big change, but nothing we can’t figure out. As long as you’re happy. That’s all that matters.”
He ran a hand through his hair as he stood, letting out a heavy breath that puffed his cheeks out. “As long as I have you, it doesn’t really matter how I feel.”
“It matters to me, baby. Are you happy?”Please say yes. Please,I silently begged. I wasn’t sure I could take more time apart, but I was determined to keep my promise to him and wait if I had to.
“If I have you, I’m happy.” He grabbed my hand. “Do I have you? Have you for good?”
My heart nearly flew out of my chest, knowing this was it, was everything I’d been secretly hoping for since I walked out of his recovery room six weeks ago. “I told you I’d be here, didn’t I?”
He let out a sound of relief and slammed his lips to mine, sliding his hands back into my hair. I staggered back with the force of his kiss, and he gripped my waist, keeping me steady. But that was my Wes. Always there, never faltering, ready to catch me when the world became too much.
And I’d catch him now in this time of uncertainty for him. Carry him through every doubt he had. Assure him that things would work out. Whatever he needed. I wasn’t going anywhere.
We could finally be together. Together for real. Nothing was holding us back now. No decades-long family feud. No amount of distance. No dangerous career. Absolutely nothing.
I could take a deep breath for the first time since I was sixteen.
“I love you,” I said over and over between frantic kisses. I yelped when he threw me over his good shoulder and started walking. “Where are we going?”
“Home,” he ground out. I smiled to myself. I liked the sound of having a home with him. It was something we had dreamed of as kids, but it had always felt so far away. So out of reach. But now it was finally a possibility.
The realization hit like a brick. “I’m so happy,” I said, my voice hoarse with emotion.
Weston set me down next to my car, brushing my hair out of my face. His smile was everything. Just as luminous now as it was the morning of our first kiss. “Me too, angel.”
His next kiss was slow, deep, devouring. It left me dazed, breathing hard, and so wet my thighs slid together beneath my dress. My fingers curled in his jacket lapels, dragging his mouth back to mine. “We should move in together,” I panted, feeding off the euphoric rush this night has become. “Now. Tomorrow.”
“Yes,” he moaned. My head fell back as he kissed along my jaw. His breath was hot as he whispered in my ear, “‘Cause I plan on fucking you every chance I get, and I’ll be damned if someone else hears the way my girl moans for me.”
“Wes,” I whined, pressing my body against his. “Take me home already.”
