“Well, how about, Iwasan ass.” He shrugged but put an arm around her shoulders, keeping her close. The scent of her made everything right. “I never had tight friends like Gideon and the others. Just Katie. But maybe I was too closed off for her.”
“What happened wasn’t your fault.”
“I think I know that now.” And he did, talking it out, hearing the truth. “I could turn off my abilities, but I don’t know that Katie could as easily. It takes a lot of energy not to know who sat on this bench, what you were doing when you put on your jacket. Objects carry the echoes of energy from those who handle them. If I focus, I can feel Eli sitting here from last week.” He curled his fingers around the bench.
“Wow. Really?”
“Yeah. But my Circ helps a lot. It knows too much stimulus will drive me insane. So it helps barricade my mind. You know, the Circ part, it’s good if you let it in all the way.”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “I know. Bailey has helped me get to know my new self. She loves you, by the way.”
“Who, Bailey?” His heart raced.
“No, goofball. My beast. It’s so gone for you it’s not funny.”
So one hurdle down. “What about you, Kennedy? How do you feel?”
She pulled back from his shoulder and looked at him. “I, well, I like you too. More than like, I think. But it’s all so soon. Being in a person’s mind makes me feel closer than I would normally. With you, it’s like we connected on a deeper level than even a mind to mind. And to be honest, it scares me a little.”
“Me too.”
She looked surprised. “Really?”
“Did you not just hear me say I don’t commit to people? That it’s hard for me to be open? But with you, there’s no door shutting you out. I want you to know all of me, and that terrifies me, because I have a feeling you won’t like what you see.”
“I’ve already seen you, and I’m head over heels,” she grumbled. “My problem is you seem too good to be true. What happens when you decide you’re not into redheads anymore and you want—”
She let out a soft gasp when he yanked her close, staring at her nose to nose. “You listen up, Kennedy Knight. I am only going to say this once. I fucking love you. It scares the shit out of me. I still think you’ve got one foot out the door, but I can’t help feeling this way.”
She softened. “Oh, Alex. I think I love you too. And I’m a mess. Ask anyone.”
His heart clenched, and he drew her in for a kiss that showed her how much he felt. “You get to me, baby. I don’t ever want to let you go. I don’t care what color your hair is, or what kind of crappy candy you like. I love you, the funny, smart, control freak—”
“Hey.”
“—who won’t give up the TV remote and who folds her socks and underwear and stacks them just so in my drawers. I’ve noticed you folded mine too. Thanks.”
She blushed. “Sorry. You’re so disorganized.”
He laughed. “That’s not what the team says. According to them I’m a little compulsive.”
“And that’s a problem?”
He laughed some more. “You’re wonderful, you know that? For growing up an only child, then losing your parents and going to live with your cousin’s family, you seem pretty damn well adjusted. You’re kind, and not in a doormat kind of way. You’re a genuinely nice person. I’ve seen inside you, too. You care, sweetheart. And that’s rare in this day and age.”
“Oh please.” Her cheeks were pink. “You sound like you’re a hundred and two. You’re only a few years older than I am.”
He did the math. “Seven, I think. So that makes me always right.”
She snorted.
He tickled her. She fought back through laughter and smiles.
And Alex had the best time of his life in those few precious moments before the world went to hell.
******
“We’ve spotted Yates in the city,” Eli told them as they walked back into the house.
