“You’re stronger than you know.”
Her smile faded into something softer.
“So are you.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I just had something worth fighting for.”
Her breath caught.
The words hung between us.
Honest.
Unprotected.
I had spent years keeping everything locked down.
My feelings.
My fears.
My heart.
But I was tired of pretending Sadie didn’t own every piece of me that mattered.
“I love you,” I said.
Her eyes widened.
The whole kitchen went silent.
Of course it did.
The Magnolia Ladies had apparently developed the hearing of bats.
Wolf stopped moving.
Trigger nearly dropped his coffee.
Her Dad looked up from the table.
But none of that mattered.
Only Sadie.
Only the way tears filled her eyes.
Only the way she smiled through them.
“I love you too,” she whispered.
I kissed her.
Slow.
