Kiki just blinks at me, her eyes wide and glassy.
Well, there you go, Landry. Real smooth. Confess your feelings while the woman’s crying so hard she can barely breathe. What did you expect?
“Wow, I must really be a sight if you’re telling me you love me.”
Normally, her words would stop me cold, but I see the tiniest pull at the corners of her mouth. Some small part of her believes me, even if the rest of her can’t.
“You’re beautiful.” I press a kiss to one tear-streaked cheek, then the other, and rest my forehead against hers. “I love you so much it scares the hell out of me. And I promise you, we’re going to have a beautiful life together.”
Now, it’sallout there. My words, my feelings, my heart. Funny thing is, I don’t want to take a single one of them back.
I’ve cared about women before. I loved Deirdre, and she’ll always have a place in my heart because memories don’t vanish when the romance does.
But I’ve never been in love before now, and yet, I’m so glad I told Kiki, because some part of me knows I’ve loved her since the beginning, and it’s about damn time I spoke the words aloud.
The shock on Kiki’s face falls away, replaced by a tremulous smile and she feathers her fingers down my face. “How do you do it? How do you always know how to ease the hurt?” She bites her lip, which, without fail, gets me every time. “How are you so perfect?”
I smirk, brushing off her compliment. “Trust me, I’m not.”
Seems Kiki doesn’t agree, as she presses a soft kiss to my mouth. “To me, you’re more than perfect. You’re everything.”
Chapter 16
Why Couldn't I Have Met You First
Kiki
He loves me.
Eddie Landry loves me.
But what if he told you because your life is such a disaster that he knew you needed to hear something good?
Honestly, brain, if you had a mouth, I’d invest in a roll of duct tape.
Sadly, I realize the thoughts bouncing around my head aren’t ridiculous or the claims of a sadistic organ.
What happened this evening is going to change the trajectory of my future with Eddie. His ex-wife hates me and now, she’s refusing to let Theo anywhere near me.
Worst part? I don’t blame the woman. I get how bad it looks, how awful the sound bites are about the crimes Drake committed, how insanely inept I appear for not realizing sooner.
“If I could somehow go back in time and change it, thwart Drake’s plan, I would in a heartbeat.” Damn, didn’t mean to say that aloud.
Eddie pulls me close, dropping a soft kiss on my hair. “I know you would.”
I gaze up at him, my eyes still bleary with tears. “What am I going to do? What arewegoing to do?” I play with the buttons on his flannel, his skin so warm beneath my fingers. “I want to forget everything that happened tonight, but I can’t.”
He pulls me closer, snuggling me tight. “We can’t change what happened tonight. Can’t fix the Deirdre situation. Can’t bury—I mean fix—the Drake situation?—”
“You were right the first time,” I say, my mouth tipping to the side as I bite back a smile.
“Fair enough. We also can’t fix any of the bullshit waiting outside that door.”
I sit up, pinning him with a glare. “Is this supposed to make me feel better? Because it’s not really working.”
Eddie grins, and I realize in that moment I’ve never loved anyone like this, even if he sucks at improving my current mood.
Tell him. Say it.
