“What if it all gets to be too much? What if you can’t handle seeing me again? Or worse, I do something else and you have no choice?”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because you’ve made me stronger. Because of you, I can handle anything. You’re the reason I’m finally moving on.”
“That’s right. You’re moving on. I refuse to drag you back down. You deserve better. You deserve an ending you read about in books. In fact, you should write that book. Write our story and give us the ending we should have had.”
My heart jolts at the longing in his eyes. “We can have that ending, Zane. God, why are you being so damn stubborn?”
“Because I fucking love you, Blair. I’ve loved you since I was a teenager, and I can’t handle the thought of hurting you again. I’ve hurt so many people, but hurting you would kill me. Let me doone thing right.” His voice softens at the end, and his shoulders sag as he whispers, “What if I can’t stop it?”
“Zane.” His name rushes from my lips and my heart breaks for him. “That won’t happen. I promise it won’t.” I jump up and settle in front of him, dropping to my knees between his legs.
“You can’t know that.”
“I can and I do. Because this time we’re facing it as a team. Sharing the load. Plus, I love you too. It would be selfish on your part to make me love you from afar. It’s always beenyou. Let’s not waste any more time pretending we’ll ever be truly happy apart.”
Zane’s gaze meets mine, his eyes bouncing as he considers my words.
“What if—”
“No, what-ifs. Where is the guy who wouldn’t leave me alone? That wouldn’t take no for an answer? Where’s the guy that said, ‘I have never and will never want anyone else in this life’? Where has he gone?”
“He’s right here.” Zane points to his chest.
“Thenproveit.”
I brace for his excuses, but he shocks me by grabbing my face with his hands and pressing his lips to mine. His movements frantic. The connection sends a spark from my mouth through my chest, and I gasp at the intensity of the feelings coursing through me.
Zane pours everything he has into the kiss while I melt, clinging to him for dear life. His lips caress mine, his tongue seeking entry, exploring at first until his hold on me tightens and his kiss turns possessive.
I’ve always known that I was his, but in this moment, with Zane’s palms scorching my skin, his mouth controlling my heart, his words on my mind, I know that he’s mine. That he’ll always be mine, no matter what life brings us.
“Zane,” I rush out, my word breathy as it escapes between kisses.
“I love you so much, B,” he mumbles against my mouth, the vibrations of his words making me shiver.
I’m not sure how long we kiss, but when he finally pulls back, it feels like my world has caught fire, burning the past I’ve spent so long trying to outrun.
“This is it, Zane,” I whisper, terrified that my words will scare him off. “Can you feel it?” I grab his hand and hold it against my chest.
“I can, and I want everything you have to give, but we still have so much to talk about. So much to work through.”
My chest tightens, but I refuse to let him see my fears. He needs me to be strong and unwavering. “Get it all out in theopen. After this moment, you’re not allowed to second-guess us anymore. We do everything else together. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“So…”
“What did your dad do? Why does he have a black eye and busted lip?”
“That’s what you want to talk about?”
“One of the things, yes. Because that’s the kind of destruction I leave in my wake. That’s why I don’t make friends, because they do shit like that and end up in trouble.”
“Like what you did for Reed and Hayley?”
