The Forever Girl (Wildstone, #6)(83)

“I hate the but already.”

He palmed and squeezed her sweet ass. “But . . . it means getting rid of all the bullshit.”

She was still for a long beat, so still he wasn’t sure she was breathing. Then she carefully inhaled. “By bullshit, do you mean mine or yours?”

“Both,” he said, and could almost hear her self-doubts. “Hey,” he said softly, nudging her a bit to make her look at him. “Hey.”

“What?”

“I wouldn’t change a single thing about you, so stop thinking that.”

“Get out of my head, dammit.”

“I could only wish to be in your head, Maze.”

“No, you don’t. It’s a scary place.”

“Do you remember when we first met?” he asked.

“Yes.” She gave a small smile. “I was in Caitlin’s front yard when her parents pulled up with you.”

He nodded. “You were in the middle of a brawl with the kid next door. Like actually rolling around on the grass in a full-out war.”

“Not my finest moment,” she admitted softly.

“Are you kidding?” He was smiling at just the memory. “He’d thrown a rock at Michael and beaned him in the head. You were standing up for him, giving the little punk asshole a badly needed lesson.”

“That’s not how the parentals saw it. I was grounded for a week.”

“I don’t care how anyone else saw it. I took one look at you, bleeding from your nose, hair wild—”

She grimaced, and he nudged her again, wanting eye contact for this.

“Your jeans were ripped and your shirt had dirt all over it. Your expression was fierce and unapologetic and . . . well, pissed off at the world. And I thought you were the most impressive thing I’d ever seen.”

She looked embarrassed. “Come on.”

“You were amazing and incredible, and I still think that.”

She swallowed hard and her eyes skittered back to the view. “You see me differently than everyone else. They see the wild, feral kid, no plans, no dreams.”

He squeezed her hand. “That was never true. Well . . . okay, maybe the wild, feral part is,” he said, laughing when she rolled her eyes. “But you always had plans and dreams. You wanted to be a bartender. You used to make us fun drinks from stuff in the fridge.”

“Some people think I should aim higher.”

“What people?”

She lifted a shoulder. “People.”

“Since when do you care what anyone thinks?” he asked.

She bit her lower lip. “Okay, it’s me. I worry that I should be aiming higher. I guess that’s why I’m in school too. Maybe I can be a business manager at a place where I can also take on some bartending shifts.”

“Cat told me you volunteer at a women’s shelter.”

“Cat has loose lips.”

He smiled. “She loves you. She’s proud of you. And so am I.”

She squirmed, uncomfortable with the praise, so he changed the subject.

“We all had simple dreams back then. Simple doesn’t mean not good enough. And the way I see it, you’re the only one of us currently following your dream.”

“You were interested in owning your own place because you like people and also like to gather them around you. But more than that, you wanted something of your own that no one could take away from you.”

“You remember all that?” he asked, surprised.

“I remember everything,” she said softly. “Caitlin wanted to be the cook. Heather wanted to be in charge of the books because she likes numbers.” She laughed a little. “God, we had it so good back then and didn’t even know it. Why can’t life be like that all the time?”

“It could be. With you, I know it could be.”

She looked stunned . . . and uncertain. “How do you know?”

She was still in his lap, so he turned her to fully face him, wrapping his arms around her. “Because being with you now is as easy as it was back then. Don’t you get it yet, Maze? You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to my life.”

“You spent one year with me, and that was accidental. We could’ve landed at different houses, easily.”

He raised a brow. “And now, this week?”

“Another freak accident that we’re both here at the same time,” she said.

“Caitlin’s wedding is a freak accident?”

“Actually, it’s a disaster in the making,” she corrected him. “And if it hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t be here. So yeah, it’s also an accident. And anyone who knows us is going to think this is ridiculous, that it’s just an itch to scratch, that we have no business trying to make something of it.”

That was fear talking. He knew because he felt it too. The only difference was that it wouldn’t stop him from trying. “Your happiness is all that matters to those of us who love you, Maze. You can be you all the way to the bone, and we’ll all still love you and support any choices you make.”

“That’s—” She broke off, looking shocked. “Wait. Did you just say you love me?”

He couldn’t help the smile at her shock. “I said you can be who you are.”