“No, he’s not, but I don’t know if someone else is.”
“I think Mr. Santino might have put the fear of God in Brock.”
“Really.” Niko’s face lit up. “I wish I could have seen that.”
“It was pretty badass.” Tiana couldn’t help but smile. She’d never seen Brock look so scared and helpless. She didn’t condone violence, but, in this case, she made an exception.
They were staring at each other smiling, both basking in the glow of Brock being put in his place, but then the energy shifted. Both their smiles dropped.
“I’m sorry you heard that stuff about our relationship.” Niko reached out and cupped her face. She leaned into his touch, and his thumb brushed along her jaw. “I did tell Jessie that it was fake.”
“It was.” Tiana shrugged. “I don’t even know why it bothered me to hear that it was a PR stunt. That it was being used to clean up your reputation. It’s fine. Itwasa fake relationship.”
He shook his head as he grinned. “It was never fake for me.” His eyes brimmed with sincerity. “I put that on the table because I thought it would be a way to get close to you. That maybe you would consider being my fake girlfriend, even if you wouldn’t consider actually dating me. But it was never fake. I think I’ve been half in love with you since I saw you across the bar at the ESPYs ten years ago.” His thumb trailed along her neck, and she wondered if he could feel her pulse racing. “I meant what I said last night, I love you. You don’t have to believe me, and I know you don’t feel the same.” He grinned. “Although that’s very hard for me to believe because, let’s face it, I’m pretty irresistible, but that’s fine, I’ll wait as long as it takes for you to realize how amazing I am. I can even start a petition if I need to?—”
“I love you.” Tiana felt like she’d just jumped off a cliff, like she was falling.
She’d told Brock she loved him, and at the time she’d believed it, but it hadn’t felt like this. This felt like…she wasn’t sure what this felt like.
Niko froze. “What?”
“I love you,” she repeated, this time she just felt like she jumped off a large boulder.
She watched as his chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. His thumb traced her lips as he stared at her mouth. “Say it one more time.”
A smile spread across her face. “I love you.”
His mouth crashed to hers, and he kissed her until nothing else existed except the two of them. When she crawled onto his lap and started ripping off his shirt, he stopped her, looked around, and laid her down, making sureno onecould see her before he finished what she started. She knew that she would always be safe and protected in his arms, in his heart, and in his love.
34
“Are you sure, son?”Mayor Walker practically had to shout to be heard over the festivities.
Downtown Hope Falls was transformed with twinkle lights, wreaths, and dozens of hand-painted snowman cutouts that peeked from every store window, Main Street dripped in festive candy canes, reindeer, and nutcrackers. The Christmas parade was less a parade, more a controlled stampede of children, dogs in reindeer ears, vendors hopped up on eggnog and spiced cider from the Mistletoe Mile, and high schoolers doing their best to look cool while wearing Santa onesies.
“Absolutely,” Niko confirmed.
The mayor looked like he thought Niko might not be the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. “Okay, son.”
Niko floated down the steps of the main stage on the aftershock of his announcement to forego his co-Marshall title, his “absolutely” still echoing in the speakers above the street. He spotted his family instantly by the Sugar Cookie Decoration Station. As usual, Yaya was holding court, mesmerizing the group with tales of Christmas in the Old Country. Zion was captivated, he truly was her best audience. Arthur, her husbandand certified badass, was holding her purse beside her, looking at her like the sun rose and set in her eyes. Frankie, laughing at something Liam said, her cheeks flushed with a kind of happiness Niko always wished his sister would find. Dr. Sterling stood next to his mom with his arms crossed and a rare, totally unguarded smile on his face.
Tiana moved with a different current, orbiting the edge of the group, caught in conversation with his mom, Poppy, and AJ. As he looked at his family, all in one place, all happy, his heart was full. Niko’s chest felt like he’d sprinted the length of the football field. There were no holes in this picture. Yes, he missed Papou and his dad, but they were there, just out of frame, they’d be with them always.
He touched the left side of his chest, running a thumb over the outline of the ink he’d gotten last week. His dad’s fire helmet and a chess knight for Papou, who loved and taught him the game, both in black and gray, right over his heart. It still twinged sometimes, but in a good way.
Jessie was right. He liked baseball, but he never loved it. This was what he loved. His family. His wife. Well, she wasn’t yet. He hadn’t asked her, but that would be remedied very soon.
Not able to stand being away from her for one more second, Niko slid up behind Tiana, wrapping his arms around her as if staking a claim. The scent of her, something citrusy mixed with a hint of vanilla, hit him like a lineup of fastballs. He pressed his face into the juncture of her neck and hair, and she wriggled in his grasp.
Frankie pointed at him as she teased, “Gross.”
“What are you doing?” Tiana twisted to look back at him. “You should be on the stage.”
“Nope.” He kissed her on her temple. “I shouldn’t.”
She eyed him, suspicion warring with delight. “What are you up to?”
He grinned, letting the mischief radiate. “You’ll see.”
