Beautiful Sacrifice (Maddox Brothers #3)(66)
Taylor’s eyebrows lifted, and he looked at everyone around him. “But it’s not because of me. I’d let Travis beat the shit out of me before I made her cry like that.”
“I’m okay,” I said with an appreciative smile. “We’re not fighting.”
Travis made his presence known, stepping into the doorway next to his wife. “Since when does a Maddox not fight with his girl?”
Abby tried not to smile, and she nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.
“It’s not like I trashed the room or anything,” Taylor said.
I wasn’t sure what he’d meant, but the mention wiped the smug grin off Travis’s face.
Unable to let Taylor take the heat any longer, I spoke up, “We’re talking about something else, something that happened a long time ago.”
“Oh,” Travis said, suddenly enlightened. “Past shit. We know all about past shit.”
Abby narrowed her eyes at Taylor. “What did you say to her?”
“Nothing!” Taylor said, defensive.
Abby pointed at him. “You’d better not have brought her here just to make her cry, Taylor Dean!”
“I didn’t!”
“What did you say?” Abby demanded.
“That I love her! Kind of.” He paused and then turned to me.
My breath caught. “You … what? I’m pretty sure you didn’t say anything close to that.”
“Well, that’s what I’ve been trying to say for a while,” Taylor grumbled.
Abby’s mouth fell open, and then she smiled.
Taylor ignored our audience and took a few steps until he was just inches away from me. He scanned my face with such adoration in his eyes that I began to tear up again.
“Don’t cry,” he said.
“*,” Travis said, hooking his arm around his wife.
Taylor took an offensive step toward his taller, younger brother, and Travis leaped back with an amused smile. I stood and gripped Taylor’s T-shirt, holding him back. He didn’t put up much of a fight.
Abby rolled her eyes. “Just let me know if you need back-up, Falyn. I will kick his ass from here to Sunday.”
“Aw, c’mon, Abby,” Taylor said. “I just told the girl I love her, and you’re makin’ me sound like a bag full of dicks.”
“You are a bag full of dicks,” Abby said. “Stop making her cry.”
Taylor’s mouth fell open, and then he slammed the door in their faces.
I wiped my eyes and sat on the end of the bed. “Was that for them?”
“Was what for them?”
“The whole I-love-you thing. Does that have something to do with you bringing a girl home you’re not f*cking?”
Taylor’s shoulders sagged, and he knelt in front of me. “Jesus, Falyn, no.”
“So … you love me,” I said in disbelief.
“You’re goddamn right I do,” he said without hesitation. “I said, after this trip, we wouldn’t be friends anymore.” He noticed my expression. “What?”
“That’s unfortunate for you.”
“That’s all you have to say?” he said, wounded.
“I’m a mess, Taylor. Inevitably—”
“You, Falyn, are f*cking amazing. I’ve never been so proud to know someone in my life. And that’s saying something. I have a lot of decorated heroes for friends. You were right about how this happened. We were supposed to meet. Just like we did. It can’t all be a weird coincidence.” His eyes met mine. “I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not going to leave you, Falyn. And I’m not going to let you leave me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“You don’t have to say it back, but it’s too late for me.”
Holding back at that point—when Taylor was looking me in the eyes, confessing his feelings—was useless. But the very real fear of good-bye was just under the surface, waiting behind the hope of a happy ending. It had to be. Whether it was me who walked away or the ones I loved being ripped from my grasp, good-bye was nearly all I knew.
“I’m afraid I’ll lose you if I say it out loud,” I said, hoping my voice was too soft for fate to hear.
“So, you do,” he said, surprised. “You love me.”
I nodded, wary of his reaction.
He pulled me into his chest and hugged me tight, relieved. “I can’t f*cking believe it. I have never trusted in this kind of thing before, but it’s hard to deny.”