“I want to be the man you deserve and I know I fucking can be. If you give me another chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”
My heart thumped against my rib cage.
I waited for her to say something. Anything.
Finally, she sniffed. “I can do another chance.”
Relief flooded through me.Thank fuck.
Three simple words—the ones I should have said back at the hotel—burned in my chest, demanding to be set free.
I needed to look at her while I said them.
My foot pressed on the brakes. We were in the middle of a block. Cars cruised by. A couple headlights flashed. I didn’t care.
“Rom?” she asked, startled. “Why are we?—?”
I unbuckled and turned toward her, every part of me trained on her face. She blinked at me, wide-eyed.
“I’m answering your question. The one you asked that night.”
A car honked behind us. Another. Didn’t matter.
I took her hands in mine and ran my thumbs across her knuckles. “I love you.” The words scorched their way out of me. “I love you like I’ve never loved anything in my goddamn life. It’s terrifying. It’s relentless. You’ve gotten under my skin and into my soul, and you didn’t even try. Somewhere along the way, I stopped being mine and became yours.”
Her lips wavered and tears clung to her lashes.
“I wasn’t living before I met you, Mia. I was just existing. Trying to drown the parts of me I couldn’t face. But you—you came in with all your light, and suddenly there was nowhere left to hide. You cracked me open. Made mefeelagain.”
She bit on her lip, emotions flickering across her face.
“I’d tried to run from those feelings. But I’m not running anymore. I fucking love you.”
She reached out and pressed a trembling hand against my cheek. “You’re not a coward,” she said softly. “You’re the very opposite. All you needed was a bit of time.” Her thumb brushed over my jaw. “I’m so proud of you, Rom.”
Inside me, everything melted.
A smile tugged on her mouth. “And I love you too. So damn much.” The next moment, her lips were pressing against mine.
I cradled her jaw and pulled her closer, my tongue sliding into her mouth, hungry to taste her, feel her, memorize her all over again. I kissed her like a man finally touching heaven after crawling through the pits of hell.
When we finally broke apart, she rested her forehead against mine, her breath shaky and warm. “I missed you,” she whispered. “When I thought you might be gone…” Her voice cracked. “I regretted not telling you I loved you earlier. I’d wanted to, you know. But I was scared too. Scared I’d misread you. Scared you’d break my heart.”
I brushed my cheek against hers. “You didn’t misread me, Berry. You saw me more clearly than anyone ever has. It was never about getting you out of my system. I just wanted to have an excuse, any goddamn excuse, to be close to you. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t stay away.”
She kissed me again. “You don’t have to try anymore. Just be with me, Rom.”
“HEY!” someone behind us yelled. “MOVE IT OR WE’RE CALLING THE COPS!”
Mia choked out a laugh, wiping her eyes. “Maybe we can continue this somewhere we won’t get arrested?”
I grinned and eased the car back into motion. “Fair. I’m not eager to end up in that precinct again.”
“They brought you in for questioning?”
“Right after the explosion,” I said. “Fucking mess. But I’m fine now. I’ve got you.”
She fell quiet, and then, softly, “I’m sorry about your dad.”
