The Forever Girl (Wildstone, #6)(99)

She shook her head. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve got to go first, and fair warning, I haven’t slept in two days, I’ve had six cups of coffee since we landed, and I think I’ve got a Cheerio in my bra.” She took Walker’s hand and pressed it to her heart. “When I left you that lipstick note, it wasn’t like Vegas. I was just in a hurry. I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t actually fully understand what you must’ve gone through until we ran by the church to pick up Caitlin’s stuff and I saw the message again.”

He opened his mouth, but she shook her head.

“I’ve got more, and there’s even some groveling.” She spread her hands out at her sides. “This is me, Walk. I screw things up, especially matters of the heart. I promise you to work harder at it, but this is who I am. I react without thinking, especially with the people I love. On Saturday, all I could think about in that moment was getting Caitlin out of there.”

“She said the L-word,” Heather whispered. “We all heard that, right?”

“Shh!” Cat said. “I wanna hear the groveling.”

Walker ignored their audience and kept his eyes on Maze. “I don’t want you to grovel,” he said. “I don’t deserve that. In fact, you deserve it from me.” He cupped her face, so damn happy to see her he could scarcely breathe. “The things I said to you before I left . . .” His throat felt tight. “I was wrong, about all of it. I didn’t mean any of it. I overreacted. I was scared.” He shook his head. “No, make that terrified. I thought you’d walk away eventually, and I used the excuse to beat you to it.”

“But—” Maze started, but this time he put a finger to her lips.

“I acted on impulse,” he said, “like someone else I know.” He felt a small huff of amusement against his finger. “And then I went from terrified to . . . crazy.” He shook his head. “When I saw you at Michael’s grave, smiling and laughing . . .”

She closed her eyes. “I swear, that wasn’t about you.”

“I know that now. And I knew it then too. I was just too far gone to admit it. I was a complete idiot.”

Wrapping her hand around his wrist, she pulled his finger from her lips. “Well, I don’t know about complete idiot . . .”

“Complete,” he repeated. “But luckily I’m still capable of learn ing from my many, many mistakes.” He pulled out his phone and showed her his boarding pass for his flight out in two hours.

“You were coming back,” she whispered.

“I was coming back. But that didn’t mean I took this”—he gestured between them—“as a given. In fact, it was the opposite. You have a choice here. You always have the choice.”

“See?” she said, her eyes shiny. “Definitely not a complete idiot.”

With a rough laugh, he hauled her in tight for a long, deep, desperate kiss. When he pulled back and looked into her gorgeous eyes, he said, “I love you, Maze. I have since that day I arrived in Wildstone to find you fighting a bully for Michael.”

Jace shook his head. “So I borrowed this stupid Elvis costume and got on a plane for nothing?”

“Not for nothing,” Walker said. “Because you look pretty stupid, and that’s very amusing.” He looked at Maze again. “We’re really doing this, right? You’re mine, and—”

“Um, excuse me,” Heather interrupted, leaning forward to Walker. “Sorry, I don’t mean to hold up the negotiations, but that whole ‘you’re mine’ thing is a little alpha, and alphas aren’t exactly in vogue right now.”

Walker never took his eyes off Maze. “—and I’m yours.”

“Oh, well, that’s okay then,” Heather said, nodding, backing up. “Carry on.”

Maze smiled up at Walker with her entire heart in her eyes. Or maybe it was his heart . . . “I love you too,” she said, voice sure and firm. “I’ve always loved you. And I’m not afraid of it anymore.”

He slid his hands into her hair. “Say it again.”

She smiled. “I’m not afraid.”

He tightened his grip on her. “Not that.”

She laughed and stepped into him so there was zero space between them. “I love you, Walker.”

His heart caught and rolled over. “Enough to stay married to me?”

“I burned the divorce papers, so yes, and even though I have no idea what I can offer you other than adventure and great toast, I want to stay married to you.”

“How about your heart? You offering me that?”

She smiled. “Already yours. Has been for as long as I can remember. And I think we need a honeymoon this time that lasts longer than a few hours.”

“God, yes,” Walker said fervently. “And a lot farther away than Vegas. I’m thinking somewhere private and warm enough so that clothes are optional.”

Caitlin looked at Heather. “Should we tell them we can still hear them?”

“They don’t care.” Jace tugged off his Elvis wig. “They’re too busy trying to swallow each other’s tonsils.”

This was true. Walker was now kissing Maze like his life depended on it, loving how she made that soft, needy, just-for-him sound from deep in her throat. Lifting his lips from hers, he smiled into her eyes. “Do you hear talking?”