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But Colby makes me want to fight. I want to fight with him… I want to fight for him.

I pound my fist against his stupid, gigantic door. “Open up, Colby!”

I pound again. “I know you’re in there!”

Using both of my fists I knock against the door over and over as loud as I can. “Let me in right now, you infuriating man! We have to talk this out, this isn’t over! I love you!” Breathless from my own anger, I slump against the door.

“I love you too, angel.”

I whirl around to see a grinning Colby, and a horrified Remy, standing right behind me on the path leading up to Colby’s door.

“Sorry, I was getting in an early morning workout at Remy’s, we heard pounding and came to see what was going on,” he explains.

My anger turns to relief, and a strangled sob comes out. Colby steps in and wraps his arms around me, pulling me close to him and burying his face in the crook of my neck.

“I’ll, um, leave you guys to it,” Remy says awkwardly and rushes back to his own house.

Colby laughs, his mouth hot against the skin under my jaw. Then he places a kiss to my neck and pulls back.

He opens his front door, taking my hand and leading me inside his house. “I have something to show you,” he says.

“Wait. I have some things to say, and I need to say them.”

“Okay.” He gazes at me with those striking blue eyes, his face serious as he prepares to listen.

“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. What happened wasn’t your fault, and my own insecurities made me doubt everything. I’ve been doing some research…” I pause, noting his smile. “And something that would help me to trust you more is open communication and honesty. I know what happened the other night was random, and your phone broke. But I think if I’d heard about it from you, and not from Travis, I would’ve been more level-headed, and less panicked. In the future, if something happens, just tell me and talk through it with me.”

“I can do that. I have nothing to hide from you, Noel. You can have all of my passwords, phone code, whatever you want.” He takes a step toward me.

“You don’t think I’m crazy?” I ask, looking down at my feet.

He reaches for me, sliding his hands onto my hips. “Of course not. Whether we like it or not, our past is part of us. But we can move forward, together.”

I peer up at him, meeting his gaze. “I’d like that.”

His lips pull up into a smirk. “Now can I show you my surprise?”

I nod and he leads me through his house and up the stairs. I’ve never been upstairs, and it doesn’t look like he has either. There are a few empty bedrooms and a hallway before we come to a large loft area with high, vaulted ceilings and wood beams. A vintage chandelier hangs at the center of the room, and there’s a window seat in front of a huge window. But it’s when I take in the walls and inhale the smell of fresh wood and paint that I gasp.

“Is this a library?”

Colby is watching me closely, studying my reaction. “Yes, this was just wasted space, so I had shelves put in for you. It looked like your apartment was running out of room for your books.”

I spin, looking all around the room. The walls are lined with bare shelves, shelves that are just aching to be filled with beautiful books. “There’s even a rolling ladder,” I say, walking toward the wooden ladder and taking it for a spin. “I’ve never seen anything so wonderful.”

“I thought you could help me fill the shelves.” He gestures toward two large, comfy chairs in the center of the room. “And we could read here together.”

A tear slides down my face as I realize how much this man truly loves me. All this time, he wasn’t flirting to be obnoxious. I think he would do anything just to make me happy. “You really like me.”

His head falls back, and the library fills with the sound of his laughter. I soak in the deep, husky sound of it, letting it wash over me and fill all the cracks I’ve felt in his absence. His laughter subsides, and he pulls me to him, encasing me in those big, sexy arms of his. “No… I really love you.”

“I love you too,” I say, my voice sounding strange to my own ears. I’ve only said those words to one other man, and they feel so different now than they did then. I’m wondering if I even knew what love was before Colby.

He closes his eyes and hums. “It sounds even better when you’re not angry.”

I laugh, remembering yelling the words when I was banging on his front door. Fisting his still-sweaty t-shirt in my hand, I pull him forward and kiss him. He sighs contentedly and picks me up. My legs wrap around his waist, and he moves us to the ladder and presses me against it as he kisses me. His kisses are desperate, as if he thought he’d never kiss me again, and I kiss him back just as passionately.

When our kisses slow, we’re both panting and breathless. I look him in the eyes and ask, “can I really have your phone passcode?”