I couldn't breathe. All I could see was him kneeling there with his hand wrapped around mine, and when I looked down I noticed his wedding ring was back.
Tears streaked down my cheeks. My breath felt lodged in my chest, painfully refusing to come out, and my whole world felt ready to tip sideways.
"Say yes," Wren hissed from somewhere behind the camera. "Obviously say yes."
I nodded because words wouldn't come, but it happened so fast I wasn't sure I'd actually agreed to it. I felt dizzy and lightheaded; my palms were so sweaty, and when Kade moved, I thought I'd fall over.
He stood and pulled me into his arms, and kissed me so hard I forgot the cameras were there. All I knew was his mouth on mine and his arms around me, and the way he held me like he'd never let go.
When we finally pulled apart, the interviewer was fanning herself. The cameraman was still filming, and Wren was grinning like she'd won the lottery.
"We're going to need a minute," I said to the interviewer.
"Of course." She turned to the camera. "You heard it here first, folks. A proposal just happened at the Bake Me Happy bakery. We'll be right back after this commercial break."
I grabbed Kade's hand and pulled him toward the back of the bakery. Away from the cameras and the lights and into the kitchen where we could be alone. My knees felt so weak and my pulse thready, but I stayed upright long enough to get the door shut and slump onto a stool by the oven.
"What did you just do?" I asked once the door closed behind us.
"I proposed." He was breathing hard. "Was that not clear?"
"You sold your car?" I rubbed my face and shook my head at the same time.
"I gave back everything." He crouched in front of me, resting both hands on my knees. "I told them I was done living by their rules. If they want to cut me off, fine. I'll figure it out."
"Kade—"
"I mean it." His hands cupped my face, brushing tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. "I don't need any of it. I just need you."
I looked up at him and saw something I'd never seen before. There was no hesitation or doubt in his eyes. He was dead certain this was what he wanted, and it made me bawl.
"What about your parents?" I asked. "They're going to be furious."
"Let them be furious." He kissed my forehead. "They don't get to decide my future anymore. I do. We do."
It was everything I'd needed to hear. Everything I'd been too scared to hope for.
I kissed him hard and he responded immediately, pulling me against his chest and deepening the kiss until I couldn't remember why I'd ever walked away from him. I didn't care whohe was or what life he lived; this feeling of absolute bliss and euphoria was the only reason I’d felt hesitant to marry Brandon. I knew it existed and I knew I wanted it, and I knew I never had it with him.
But Kade changed everything for me.
"I've loved you for a while," I whispered against his chest. "I was just scared to admit it. I thought you'd break my heart."
"I'm terrified of being a father," he said quietly. "I have no idea what I'm doing. My own father was a disaster and I'm afraid I'll mess this up completely. But we'll figure it out together, right? Isn't that what being in a relationship is about?"
"Your parents are really going to hate me now," I groaned, burying my face deeper into his chest.
"They'll get over it," he said, making me look up at him.
I wrapped my arms fully around him, still feeling a little unsure if this was actually my life, but it felt right.
Kade was what I wanted, even when I didn't know what I wanted. And it wasn't because of his money or his fame. I'd rather have had him all to myself, because I knew single women out there probably drooled over him. This was about the man I met when no one else was looking, who swept me off my feet and drew out the inner adventurer from within me. He made me a better me, and I loved him for it.
"I love you, Lainey," he said as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.
And I believed him.
Now, if we could work everything out so he didn't have to lose his family, it would feel like the dream come true I prayed for.
