Hosed (Happy Cat #1)(63)

“It’s okay if you hate me forever,” he says, “but I wanted to make sure you know you’re not alone. You fit here, Cassie. I know how much the factory means to you. How much you want to do with it. You should stay. Shine. Embrace all of Happy Cat, the good and the bad, but know that these people—” He hooks a thumb behind him at the crowd, which is starting to sing along. “They have your back. And if you don’t want anything to do with me, I’ll leave. If that’s what you need to be happy, I’ll go.”

“No!” I couldn’t stop the strangled cry if I tried. It wells up from the depths of my heart and bursts out of me. I wipe at the stupid tears again. “No,” I say again, softer. “You don’t have to go. This is your home.”

“And yours?” he asks.

The pain, uncertainty, and regret in his beautiful eyes are killing me. I want to wrap my arms around him and promise him everything’s going to be okay, but I’m so scared.

Falling in love was the easy part. Fighting for love is harder than I ever imagined it could be. Because this fight isn’t about putting up my fists, it’s about letting down my walls and being vulnerable with this man who means so much to me. A man I now know without a doubt holds my heart in his hands.

He could break me. So easily.

Be he also makes me whole.

“George would miss you,” he adds.

My laugh comes out half-sob. “That was low.”

His lips hitch halfway up. “I’m a desperate man. I fucked it up with you. I know that. And I’m so sorry.”

I sniff. “Yeah. You did fuck up. Why did you do that?”

He sighs, but he doesn’t flinch in the face of my searching look. “I got a peek at what it might be like to lose you, and it scared the hell out of me. Shook me so hard I didn’t realize I was running scared until my brothers knocked some sense into me.” He swallows hard. “When I’m with you, everything feels so right, Cass. Like, for the first time in my life, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, doing exactly what I’m supposed to do. And that’s loving you, with everything in me.”

I press a fist to my chest, where my heart is threatening to pound a hole through my ribs.

“I’m not perfect,” he continues, his eyes shining, “and I can’t promise I won’t fuck up again, but if there’s any chance you could give me a second chance, I swear to you, I will bust my ass to be the man you deserve. If you want me to print my apology on the front page of the paper, I will.”

My lips quirk. “I think the whole town’s already heard it.”

He huffs, blinking as he nods. “Yeah. You’re probably right. But…anything else. Anything at all. You name it, baby, and I’ll do it. I just—I want to take back everything that happened this morning. I want to have never left our bed. I want to have been there for you when you needed me. Because you’re what matters most. And I’m just so damned sorry.”

I launch myself at him, because this isn’t a man who wants to hurt me.

This is my man.

Who’s as imperfect as I am, but who tries his best to be everything and more for the people he loves.

“Stop,” I say, wrapping him up tight in my arms. “Stop apologizing. I forgive you. And I love you. Just the way you are.”

He exhales a shaky breath and squeezes, his nose buried in my hair. “I love you, Cassie. I love you so much it hurts.”

“It’s not supposed to hurt,” I tell him.

“Hurting you hurts me.”

“I forgive you,” I whisper again. “And I’m sorry for not forgiving you sooner. But even when I was mad at you, I still loved you. I’ve always loved you, Romeo.”

“Ditto, Juliet.”

Cheers are erupting behind us, but I shut them out and hug Ryan with all my might.

He’s so much for so many people, but who takes care of him? I think that needs to be my job. And I think I’m going to kick ass at it.

He smiles at me with shiny eyes full of hope. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you.”

“You’re you. That’s more than enough.”

A furry beast circles my legs and chitters at me. I look down at George, and he smiles back up at me.

Ryan brushes a thumb down my cheek. “Can I take you home?”

“In a minute.”

His brows furrow. “If you’re waiting for the sheriff, it’s safe to say he has his hands full with the real criminal now.”

A relief I didn’t know I needed sags through my body. Having the entire town on my side is one thing. Convincing law enforcement is also necessary to staying out of jail, however. “Really?”

Ryan grins at me. “George caught himself an arsonist.”

“Good boy,” I tell George. “I’m making you extra popcorn tonight, and I want you to tell me all about it.”

George doesn’t clap his hands, but his beady expression tells me he’s looking forward to being back where we belong. With popcorn. And Ryan. And each other, just like a real family.

“So, about home,” Ryan says, taking my hands in his.

I shake my head again. “Nope. This first.”

And before he can object—not that he would, I’m quite certain—I give the crowd what they want. I go up on tiptoe to press a kiss to his lips.