“I think the word you’re looking for is jealous.”
Damnit. The way he is smiling at me, with the easy arrogance I am used to…
I roll my eyes, and he chuckles but lets me finish. “If you’re asking if you’ve been with the real me, then the answer is yes. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been more myself with anyone.”
Owen narrows his gaze as if studying me.
When he opens his mouth, my stomach tightens so hard that I think I’ll puke. “I love you!” I blurt far louder than I intended.
His eyes widen, and he takes a step back. My fragile heart is so afraid of rejection that I still can’t stop the tumble of words coming out of my mouth. “I should have told you that at the jail. Hell, I should have told you before that moment. I was a coward. And scared—”
Owen cuts me off by grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him. He leans in, impossibly close to my lips, and whispers, “How is it that you can put the most notorious criminals behind bars and survive multiple shootouts without backup, but you’re afraid to tell me you love me?”
My voice wavers a bit. “Because you scare the shit out of me, Owen Mills. Because I’m afraid to lose you again.”
“You never lost me, Nova. I was yours from the moment I laid eyes on you.”
His words send a shiver down my spine, but I remain frozen in his grip, staring into depthless green eyes. Eyes I never thought I’d be able to see again.
Owen rests his forehead against mine, and his breath skates along my lips. “And you saved me, Nova. Not just from this trial but from myself. You made me feel like I was worth loving for the first time since my mother died. Most importantly, you gave me a reason to keep fighting for what I believe in.”
I can’t stop the second tear escaping down my cheek. This time, Owen releases my chin and wipes it away with his thumb.
“The plants, too. You filled my office with plants even when you thought I’d never speak to you again.”
This time, I smile through my tears. “I promised you plants for your office, Mr. Mills.”
“Our office.”
I cock my head to the side. “You mean your and Edwin’s office.”
Owen laughs, and it’s a balm for my weary soul, erasing all the tension that I’ve been holding for far too long.
“You’re mine, Miss Riley. You always have been, and you always will be. If you’ll have me.”
Fuck if those words don’t flow straight through me. I reach up to pull him toward me and he smiles, the dimple making an appearance the second before our lips crash together.
And it feels like coming home.
Epilogue
One Year Later
“You’re passing the company to me?” Parker shouts at Owen, his eyes wild and ping ponging between me and Owen as if the decision was also mine.
I put my hands up in surrender, backing away from the barely-contained rage simmering in Parker’s eyes.
Noell stands in the corner of Owen’s office, and Edwin was dismissed before the meeting. The information is confidential. For now. And ever since Edwin became a free man with his name cleared, it’s as if he can no longer keep any secrets.
Owen puts a placating hand on Parker’s shoulder, but Parker shrugs it off.
“You’re ready,” Owen says.
“What if I don’t want it?” Parker shoots back, but it isn’t sincere. We all know he’s had his sights set on running things over the last year, and to everyone’s surprise, he more than exceeded expectations. Much to Noell’s disappointment.
Owen rolls his eyes at his brother. “You’re ready, and you’ll be better at this job than I was.”
“Because I’m more handsome?”
