“This may not be the best time to say this or the most romantic. I’d been saving it for our date, but I think you need to hear this.”
Lake’s eyes opened wide and I physically saw her intake of breath. She held it waiting.
“I love you, Cupcake. I’ve always loved you, but it’s grown to so much more and I hope you will feel the same one day.”
Her breath swooshed from her lungs and a tear trickled down her face.
“I do.”
“You do?” I questioned, afraid I wasn’t understanding.
Her other tears glistened in the moonlight but she gave me a soft smile.
“I love you too,” she said softly.
With people buzzing all around us investigating the scene and cleaning stuff up, I dropped to my ass, pulling her onto my lap as I went. Again, so not appropriate while on the clock but they could fire me if they didn’t like it.
I was going to hold my girl.
My best friend and lover.
And one day I hoped to be my wife.
Some people may say this was moving incredibly fast but I let too many years with Lake go already. If she would have me, and Stormi too, I wasn’t going to waste any more.
We already felt like a family, I just needed to make it official.
Maybe I should at least take her on that date first.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
LAKE
I’d beena mixed bag of emotions.
Bronson loved me. I loved him. And we’d been open and honest about that. During the week following the accident, after those words were out, things had changed around my house.Ourhouse. I no longer just thought of it as mine and Stormi’s because Bronson was so much a part of it.
I couldn’t imagine him not staying there but I hadn’t asked what he planned to do about his apartment or even his father's house now that he’d been back there. We just went on with our daily lives, him there with us every day and night, but he wasn’t sneaking out of my bed in the morning anymore.
Stormi was thrilled and very okay with the change. She and I had a very extensive talk about everything as we always did whenever things came up, especially as big as my relationship with Bronson.
Bronson made me so flipping happy, I felt cherished and loved.
But a light shadow fell over the joy of finally being with Bronson because of the man who wanted to rain terror on me and others in my path. I couldn’t stop thinking about who I may have not saved or what would come next.
Next time it will be a lot more personal.
Those words kept replaying in my head and I couldn’t let them go. The man wasn’t done and I couldn’t fathom the thought of Stormi, Bronson, or anyone close to me getting hurt. And he wanted to hurt me, that was clear in his voice.
No, I think what he truly wanted was to wreck me beyond repair.
I almost jumped out of my skin when the doorbell rang. It was Friday, late afternoon, and we were having a movie night. Bronson and Stormi went to get pizza, snacks, and drinks. I wasn’t expecting anyone and hated the fact that I got a bit scared in my own home just because someone stopped by.
The guys had gone all out on security and cameras. That should have made me feel safe but that was hard to do with someone hell bent on making my life miserable. I moved to the monitor in the living room and checked the view on all the cameras. My gaze landed on the person at the door and I was shocked.
River stood there waiting.
After unlocking the door, I pulled it open and there she was, traces of concern in her eyes but a hint of a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.
