Page 104 of Hearts on the Mend

I launch myself forward once we’re close enough, and he crushes me against his body.

“Hey, Hellcat,” he whispers against my ear. “Fuck, I missed you.”

I pull back just enough to cup his face, turning his head left, then right, inspecting every inch.

“All here,” he says with a small chuckle. The warm timbre hits my chest, and I swear it cracks open. Hot tears trace my cheeks before I even realize I’m crying. I pull him tighter until he bends, pressing his forehead against mine.

“I don’t understand…” I whisper at last, scanning his eyes. “Why are… how are you here?”

He strokes my cheek with the pad of his thumb, then drags it down to tip my chin up. “Came home.”

“Home?”

“I should have stopped a few years ago, but I worked so hard for this season, and a funny thing happened. Fucking took me too long to figure it out. Don’t want to be there. Don’t want to stay safe, Cassie. You wouldn’t let me hide, so I’m not. I’m jumping. I want you and Ruby, this house, the life we built together, even accidentally. It was the best decision I’ve ever made, walking out of the bar with you that night. So I’m here. Home…” His voice breaks before he swallows, his eyes red-rimmed and wet. “If you’ll have me.”

I don’t know where to look, if I can even trust my ears and the words I swore I just heard.

“You’ll stay. With us?”

“Every damn day.”

“And the horse, the playset…?”

“All for you and Ruby. I couldn’t leave mid-season. I owed it to my team to show up for them. Owed it to myself to prove I could do it. I just needed to hope you thought we had a chance.”

I drag in a breath before I crash my mouth to his, desperate to feel him, to taste him again. He tangles his hand into my hair, the other pressed flat against the small of my back, drawing me close. I melt into him, my pulse racing.

Behind me, I hear cheers and yelling before a weight crashes into us and Ruby throws her arms around us both.

Nolan breaks the kiss to laugh against my mouth. I can’t help but smile.

“Hey there, Rue.” He bends down, then reaches into his pocket. “Brought you something.”

Ruby peeks between us as he holds out a shiny pebble. He drops it into her palm, and she grins. “You brought me a pebble? What about for Mom?”

I raise an eyebrow expectantly.

“Soon enough.”

Epilogue

Next June

“I need a fucking drink,” Ethan groans, shaking out his hands.

I pour my brother a shot of whiskey and hand it over. “Nervous?”

He sucks it down, pinning me with a glare. “Why? I’ve known for years; it just took us a while to get here.”

“He’s nervous,” Jack quips from the corner of the room.

“Shut the fuck up.” Ethan shoves the shot glass back into my hand before he rests his hand against the wall, peeking out of the window. “You got married in Vegas. What do you know about jitters?”

Jack adjusts his bow tie in the mirror.

I scratch Wally’s head and keep my mouth shut, peeking outside instead. The closest friends and family filter onto the lush lawn of Sloane’s childhood home.

Ethan surprised her with the keys last Christmas. The two of us worked on repairs as soon as they both settled on having it be their wedding venue. They move in next month, just after Ethan’s restaurant opens.