“Hey,” Bec greeted, standing next to me on the curb. We had gotten home, and while my family, Will, and Malachi had filtered into the house happily… I was stuck.
I couldn’t move my feet from the curb. I wasn’t ready for what came next. I was free, I was home, but the healing had only justbegun. I didn’t know yet how my time in captivity had changed me.
I looked down at Bec, who stood patiently by my side. I took her hand in my own, needing the connection. While being away from my family was difficult, being away from her was akin to death. She had become my world and was then stolen from my life in an instant.
“I missed you,” I whispered.
She smiled softly, “I missed you.”
“Such simple words for such a complex situation,” I mumbled.
Bec nodded, “We’ve never been good at simple.”
“I’m so sorry, Bec,” I explained. She turned to me, confusion marring her face. “I left you. I said I wouldn’t. I said you could count on me, and then I left.”
Bec shook her head and cradled my face in her hands, “You were taken. I know you wouldn’t have left me willingly. I’m the one who’s sorry, Rome. All of this happened because of me. If you hadn’t gotten involved in my world, in my chaos, you would have been safe.”
“No,” I argued, “I would have been half a man without you.”
Bec opened her mouth to argue. I assumed she was going to continue to blame herself, but what Bec’s father and Andi did was their fault alone.
“I love you,” I declared. “I would die by a thousand cuts if it meant I got a minute more with you. I would give up everything, anyone foryou.”
“Rome,” she tried to interrupt, but the words that had been on the tip of my tongue came pouring out.
“Nothing about us is conventional or simple. I mean, this whole thing started as us pretending to date. Can we talk about how ridiculous that seems now? How trivial?” I asked. “To think, our biggest problem at that time was the board. Like, who gives a fuck about them now? They’re just a part of your job… butyou and me?” I took her hands in mine as she stared at me with wide eyes. “We’re so much bigger than that. I love you, Bec.Youare the reason I never had something serious before. My heart was waiting for you. I don’t know what comes next… I mean, I definitely need therapy.” She laughed lightly. “You probably need it too. But I want to do it with you. I wantforeverwith you.”
Bec smiled widely. “I love you, Rome. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you,” Her smile dimmed for a moment. “The regret I felt thinking you were gone and had never heard those words from me. The pain… it was unbearable. I never want to live with those regrets again. Any regrets.” She sighed, her gaze downcast.
I framed her face with my hands, pulling us closer. We stood there, chest to chest, on the dark road, only the light of the streetlamps surrounding us. It was the dead of winter, both of our cheeks were red from the cold. But she was here. I was here.
“Tell me again?” I asked.
She raised a brow, “That I love you?”
I nodded.
She smiled again, “I love you, Rome Cipriani.”
“Again,” I teased.
Bec rolled her eyes, and I couldn’t believe just how much I had missed that.
“Are we going to do this all night?” She asked, her arms wrapping around my waist.
“I would spend a lifetime listening to you say that,” I mused. “And I would spend all night out here hearing you say it over and over again, but I’ll freeze my dick off if I do.”
Bec barked a laugh, “I really can never guess what you’re about to say. You know that?”
I smirked, “I like to keep you on your toes, sweetheart. Someone’s gotta.”
I didn’t want any more words. I just wanted her. I sealed my lips to hers and was finally home.
Epilogue
BEC
4 Months Later
