Page 136 of On The Edge

“You did.”

“Say the words.”

“Oh please.” I roll my eyes but it feels so damn good to smile. To laugh.

“Say it or we’re no longer friends,” she teases.

“We will still be friends but I’ll say it anyway, because it’s true. You, my dearest Tessa, were right.”

“Do you know what else I’m right about?”

“What’s that?”

“He’s the one.”

Those three words stop me as steadfast as the dahlias in my office did. Reason being? I think so too.

Isn’t that why all of this has hit me so damn hard? Because I never knew I could love someone, miss someone, want to be with someone, as much as I have Cruz these past few weeks. And not just for the big things, but for the little things. The fleeting glances across the room. His hand on my lower back as he walks past me. The way he hums softly while washing the dishes. The way he takes his helmet off and looks immediately for me.

There are a million reasons I’ve fallen in love with Cruz Navarro yet, it’s all of the little ones that mean the most.

“I know,” I whisper. “I know.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Maddix

“Are you watching what I’m watching?” Tessa asks.

“What time is it?” I ask groggily, but know damn well what time it is. I had just dozed off in the middle of working and had forgotten to set my alarm to watch the race.

“Who cares about the time. Turn on the race.”

“What? Is he okay?” I fumble with my television and find the race. Truth be told, I’m on the couch where I fell asleep as I waited for the race to start.

“He’s fine.” The beat my heart skipped catches up. He’s fine. He’s okay. “Actually, he’s kicking ass.”

“Don’t scare the shit out of me like that.” I half laugh, half sigh as I stare at the screen, waiting for them to show Cruz’s car so I can see with my own two eyes that he’s okay.

And there he is. There’s his car and the flash of telltale orange. He’s okay.

“And it seems he’s left you a little message,” she says cryptically.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

She’s quiet as I search and search until my sigh in exasperation spurs her on. “Wait till they switch to his in-car camera,” she says.

I wait patiently for them to cycle through the different racers and their cameras. And when they get to Cruz’s, it takes me two seconds to see it.

My grin is automatic.

My hand to my heart and me sitting up straighter even more so.

There is a place on the halo that cages in the racers and protects them that they often put stickers or advertisements for their sponsors. But Cruz’s sponsorship sticker is gone. In its place is a sticker that says “L O _ _ You, Madds” with a heart right after.

But let me earn it, Madds. Let me prove to you how much you mean to me. Let me prove that you make me a better man.

He’s not only trying to prove it to me—declare it to me—but also to the world. Weeks ago he couldn’t say the words and now he’s telling everyone.