Page 121 of Missing Pieces (Men of Manhattan 3)

She's here. I started pushing through the crowd of people.

"We ain't ever getting older. We ain't ever getting older."

I couldn't believe she was here. Why were there so many people in our way? The bar was more crowded in front of the stage. "Excuse me," I said a million times as I pushed my way closer to her.

"You look as good as the day I met you." She pointed at me as I made me way to the stage. "I forget just why I left you, I was insane."

I was almost there. I tried to get on the stage but a bouncer was blocking my path.

"So, baby, pull me closer, in the backseat of your Rover." She starting laughing into the mic when she saw me trying to push past the bouncer.

"We ain't ever getting older!" She yelled, even though it wasn't the right part of the song. She dropped the mic, ran to the edge of the stage, and jumped down into my arms.

The music came to a sudden stop as I wrapped my arms around her waist. And even though we were in a crowded bar in the middle of Texas, it suddenly felt like I was home.

"You always seem to be there to catch me when I fall." She smiled up at me as she laced her fingers behind my neck.

"Hailey, I'm so sorry. I never..."

"Tyler Stevens, nothing you say is going to change my mind," she said, cutting me off. "I love you. I don't want to spend another second apart. You're the only thing in my crazy life that I'm actually sure about. All I know is that I need you."

I pressed my forehead against hers. "I need you too."

"Ow, ow!" I heard Josh yell as people in the crowd starting clapping.

I glanced behind her. The mic had rolled over near us so that the whole bar could hear our conversation.

But who the fuck cared? Nothing in the world mattered except the girl in my arms. I grabbed the back of her neck and brought her lips to mine.

Everyone was still cheering when she pulled back to look up at me.

"And I need you to know that I wasn't too late. I got to say goodbye to him, Tyler. And I'm okay. Now that I'm with you, I know that everything's going to be okay." She tried to blink away the tears in her eyes.

I put my hand on the side of her face. Just like that, the pain I felt seemed to disappear. With her forgiveness, it felt like anything was possible again. For the first time in three years, it didn't feel like anything was weighing on me. She had healed my soul.

Chapter 65

Hailey

Tuesday

I woke up with his arms wrapped tightly around me. I hadn't been this content since I was sleeping in his arms in Santa Monica. When I titled my head up, I was surprised to see that he was already awake.

A smile spread across his face as he looked down at me. "It feels like I'm dreaming. I still can't believe that you're here."

I pressed my hand against his chest. "I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere."

We stared at each other in silence for a moment. We had talked until dawn, filling each other in on the missing pieces of our time apart. I told him about forgiving my mother. And about realizing that all my dad ever wanted was for me to be happy. He told me that he was finally at peace with his past. We were both starting over. Nothing was holding us back from being together. Except one thing.

The smile on his face grew even wider. "Are you still a fan of fast and crazy?"

"Since everything we do is fast and crazy, absolutely."

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "I think we should get married."

It was fast. It was crazy. And I so badly wanted to say yes. But he didn't know everything yet. Even though we had talked for hours, I hadn't gotten the courage to tell him about the baby. I had wanted to know that he needed me just as much as I needed him. His answer was in the way he looked at me. The way he kissed me. The way he held me. He needed me as much as I needed him.

"Hear me out." The smile on his face was contagious. "I'm in love with you. I want to spend every morning fo

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