Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn’t say a word or push me away. She just kept staring up at me, so I took it as a sign that she was willing to hear me out.
“You were right, you know. It sucks to know that was what you thought of me back at Cal Poly, but it sucks even more that, now that I’ve had a chance to think about it, I’ve realized that you were completely right.” My throat was tight. My gazes locked on her beautiful deep green eyes. “Back then, I was exactly who you thought I was. An idiot. A selfish, cocky dick who wouldn’t have known what to do if you’d told me.”
Her lips trembled, but I forced myself to keep going, the confession scraping my insides raw. “That’s what kills me, Mais. The fact that you weren’t wrong about me. It’s been a bitter pill to swallow, but the fact is that if you’d come to me when I was twenty-one and told me that you were pregnant, I would’ve been a dick. You were right to leave campus without telling me.”
My throat burned with the emotion rising from deep within. “I think you know this already, but I’m not that guy anymore and I really hate that you’ve had to do it all on your own only because of who I was back then.”
Her fingers trembled in mine, and for a moment, I thought she might pull away. I thought she might run or lock herself behind those mile-high walls again. Silence fell between us, every second feeling like it was stretching into eternity, but I couldn’t let it end like this.
I’d promised myself that I would try. That I would fight. While I’d hoped to get some kind of reaction from her by now, Jameson’s warning had prepared me. He’d told me that I might not get it right the first time and so I kept going.
“I am so, so sorry that I wasthatguy. I’m sorry that you couldn’t trust me and that you knew you couldn’t rely on me either. I wish there was a way I could go back in time and make it right, but all I can do is promise that in the future, I will spend every fucking day working to be a better man tomorrow than I was today.”
It felt like I was slicing into my own soul with a scalpel and bleeding my innermost thoughts all over her. It was uncomfortable. Unnatural. But if this was what it took, I would keep going until she told me to stop.
“The other night, I know I could’ve taken it better, Mais. I wasn’t thinking about what a shithead I used to be. All I could think about was how I’d missed out on the first seven years of my child’s life. On all of it, not only his birth and getting to holdhim as a newborn, but everything that came after that. I was devastated, and angry, and frankly, scared as hell.”
I dragged in a deep breath, still looking right into her eyes. “I was so scared that I was going to lose you, but I was also scared that I deserved to. If you had walked out of this house after that conversation, you would’ve been right to. I would’ve deserved you turning your back on me.”
She stared up at me, expression impossible to read.
“I want this,” I said, my voice hoarse as that emotion turned my throat into an inferno. “I wantyou. More than I’ve ever wanted anything before. I don’t even think it’s a matter of want anymore. It’s need. I need you, and I need Brody, and I need all three of us to be together.”
Her eyes darted back up to mine, but they were wide and searching, like she still wasn’t sure if she believed me. I didn’t blame her for needing more than justI want this. Fuck, even just thinking that, I realized how selfish it sounded.
“I love you, Maisie. I don’t want to marry you just because it’s convenient, or because of Brody, or because it’s the right thing to do. I want to marry you because I’m so goddamn in love with you that I can’t even think straight when you’re in the room.”
Her lips parted, her breath catching, but still she didn’t speak. Her silence tore at me, but I pressed on because if I stopped now, I would lose her forever.
“I should’ve said this weeks ago. Hell, I should’ve told youyearsago.” I squeezed her hands tighter, feeling my brow furrow as desperation rose from deep within. “I should’ve been the man you needed back then. I can’t change that I wasn’t, but I can promise that I’ll be here for you from now on.”
My knees nearly buckled as I sank down right there in front of her, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. Her gown pooled around her feet, but I was careful to avoid the fabric as I droppeddown onto one knee and reached for her hand, holding it like it was the only thing tethering me to this earth.
Her eyes shone with tears threatening to spill over and my throat went tight. “Maisie Morgan, will you still marry me today?”
For a beat, the only thing I could hear was my own pulse, slamming wild and frantic in my ears, but then she let out the softest, shakiest laugh, and those tears finally slipped free.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Callum. Of course, I will.”
Relief coursed through me so intense that it was dizzying. I nearly lost my balance as I surged up. Cupping her face in my hands, I lowered my mouth to hers, and when I kissed her, it wasn’t gentle or cautious.
It was urgent and consuming, and it left no doubt in either of us that we were exactly where we were meant to be. With the person we had always been meant to end up with.
Miraculously, she kissed me back with just as much passion. Just as much need, winding her arms around my neck and hanging on like she would never let go either.
CHAPTER 46
MAISIE
My breath caught as Callum brought his strong fingers to my chin and held it tight. He broke away from me for just a moment, breathing hard as his lower body pressed into mine.
“The others,” I mumbled, suddenly remembering that our families were out there. Somewhere in the castle.
Being this close to Callum again, kissing him, was intoxicating. Feeling his lips and his body against mine was like magic, but we were getting married in less than an hour.
“Forget about them,” he said, lowering his hands to my hips and tracing the shell of my ear with his tongue. “They won’t come in here.”
He walked us backward until I landed against the hard, cold stone wall. Then his eyes met mine again and he looked at me. Our gazes clashed and held, both of us panting before he kissed me again, but this kiss was different. It made my blood catch fire and my heart race.
