he Resolution of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence, #6)(21)

I tug on his arm, pulling him in the direction of the car. ‘Come on and I’ll show you.’


‘Okay, I know this restaurant,’ he says proudly after the waitress seats us in a corner booth that’s decorated with a glowing pumpkin and a purple and black lantern. It’s late enough that there’s hardly anyone around, except for a few drunk college kids in the bar area dressed up for Halloween. ‘This is where we first had dinner. But it wasn’t a date. Luke and Seth were here.’

‘I remember.’ I’m all smiles as I open my menu. ‘But it was the closest thing I had to a date.’

‘Callie, I’m sorry’ – he frowns – ‘that you were so alone for so long.’

‘I didn’t bring you here to feel sorry for me, Kayden.’ I glance up from the menu and meet his gaze. ‘Me being alone was based on the fact that I didn’t trust anyone. But that night, I trusted you.’

‘Really?’ he asks doubtfully as he flips open the menu in front of him. ‘You seemed like you didn’t want to have anything to do with me, especially when I reached out to take your hand.’

‘That’s because I was terrified. I had to run to the bathroom to empty out my stomach,’ I explain. When he starts to say something, I add, ‘I didn’t bring you here to talk about my past problems. I’ve done enough of that to last me a lifetime.’ I reach across the table and place my hand over his. ‘I brought you here to show you this.’ I nod at my hand on his. ‘This is possible because of you.’

He shakes his head. ‘No, this is possible because you’re strong. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, Callie. I swear to God, I don’t know how you do it.’

‘I do it because I have good people in my life that make everything worth it.’

He sighs, disheartened. ‘You’re always glowing with positivity. I wish I could be like that.’

‘Yeah, now I am. But if you had talked to me before college, you wouldn’t have thought so. I was weak back then.’

His hand begins to tremble beneath mine. ‘That’s not true. Remember that night … that night you stepped in when,’ he lowers his voice, ‘when my father was beating me. It takes a shitload of strength to do that.’


‘And it takes a shitload of strength to survive that,’ I press, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. ‘And to tell someone about it. Like you did.’

He grits his teeth. ‘Eventually, but I put you through hell until I did.’

‘It took me forever with Caleb.’ My pressing tone meets his. ‘It took me almost seven years to tell anyone. And you didn’t put me through hell.’

He doesn’t know what to say. Kayden has always been great at trying to give me confidence, but being on the receiving end of the line has always been a struggle for him. In high school, I would have never believed it. Gorgeous star quarterback dating the most popular girl in school, I thought he radiated self-worth. Boy, was I wrong.

‘I wish things could have been different for you,’ he utters softly, tracing my knuckles with his thumb. ‘I wish you could have been happy all of your life.’

‘Yeah, it would have been nice,’ I agree. ‘I know it might sound crazy – and trust me, I wish more than anything I never knew Caleb – but the thing is, what happened to me did happen and I can’t change it, so there’s no use letting it ruin my life. I don’t need to give Caleb that kind of power over me anymore. And besides, I might not be here with you if my life took another path, so I can look at the bad as something I had to go through to get to the good. You are my good, no matter what you want to believe. I’m sitting here, happier than I’ve ever been, because of you. You are my happiness.’

His gaze is flickering from my eyes to my mouth … from my eyes to my mouth … eyes … mouth. ‘Can I kiss you right now?’ he whispers when he’s solely fixated on my lips. ‘I really need to kiss you.’

I nod eagerly. ‘Yes, please.’

He leans over the table and I meet him halfway, smashing my lips to his and willingly sinking into a passionate kiss right there in public. We don’t come up for air until the waitress interrupts us to take our orders. Once she’s gone, Kayden stares at me from across the table with a contemplative look on his face.

‘What?’ I touch my face self-consciously. ‘Do I have something on my face? I am, after all, wearing enough lipstick to paint a clown’s face.’

He shakes his head. ‘It’s nothing.’ He extends his hand toward me and rests his hand on the side of my face. ‘Listening to you talk, the things you say, the way you look at life, you always make me feel better when I’m down. You’re amazing.’

‘So are you.’ I relax into his touch. ‘We make the perfect couple.’

He swallows hard and I think he’s going to go back to his self-doubt about his worth, so he shocks me when he says, ‘I think I want to … I want to live with you … You and me together.’ He pauses then shakes his head determinedly. ‘No. Scratch that. I know I do.’

My heart pitter-patters inside my chest. I don’t want to get too excited, but I am. ‘Are you sure? Because I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything. I can wait.’