Ruthless Bastard (Dangerous Love 3)

And the smile he gave her, that smile right there, so blinding and true, was better than any fantasy she’d ever had.

Chapter 19

A week later, Rhett held Kinsley’s mitten-covered hand as they strolled down Main Street, the snow blessedly giving the town a break. The last three days they’d gotten more than three feet, and most businesses had been closed, with everything reopening only today. Except for one. Kinsley’s hand tightened around his as they walked toward her bar, where wood boarded up the door and the windows. While Josh had been located yesterday a couple towns over and arrested, with no one having any doubt the charges would stick, Rhett knew that news wouldn’t give Kinsley closure. She needed her bar to reopen to put all this behind her. He’d seen the reports. Fortunately, the fire department had managed get the fire under control quickly. The only damage had been to the interior of the main bar. The building had been deemed structurally sound, allowing for Remy’s magic shop and Peyton’s lingerie store to reopen. “We’ll rebuild,” he said to her.

Kinsley offered him a warm smile, her big blue eyes standing out against her white beanie and dark hair. “We will.” She stopped by the door and glanced up at the half-burned sign. “Do you believe in fate?”

“You know I don’t,” he said. “I make my own fate.”

“I wondered if your opinion on that changed after all this,” she said, finally setting those gorgeous eyes on him.

“Because we’re together, you mean?”

She slowly nodded her head, stepping closer until her sweet belly pressed against him. “It’s like the universe gave us absolutely no choice but to be together.” Her smile warmed her eyes further and melted something hard in his chest. “Have a one-night stand? No, still not together. Okay, here throw in a baby. Still fighting it? Bring danger, make you face what you feel. Do you think we had any choice at all in any of this?”

He brushed his leather-covered finger across her rosy cheek. “Do I think I had any choice in this once you set your sights on me?” His mouth twitched. “No. You are a force, Kinsley, warm as you are bold. If you really wanted me, I don’t think there was a damn thing I could have done to stop that or you.”

She laughed, leaning into his touch. “You think I have more control over my life than fate?”

“Absolutely,” he said immediately. “Fate would look you in the eye and run away with its tail tucked between its legs.”

“I’m that powerful, huh?”

Cars drove by on the road, splashing up slush. Luckily the snowbanks kept them clean. “Your soul is your superpower.” He dipped his chin and brushed his mouth across hers. “And I’d die to protect it.”

She reached up to finish the kiss, and he cupped her face, knowing that whatever life was before Kinsley told him she was pregnant, it wouldn’t be the same life going forward now. It’d be better. She had even brought him back closer to his family. Mom called every day now to check in. Somehow, she’d broken through those walls Rhett didn’t even know were there. And most important, she reminded him what happiness felt like.

He liked it. He refused to ever let her go.

With a final press of his lips, he backed away, “Thank you for being here with me today.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” She smiled. “And say it again, you know…those three little words.”

He chuckled. “I love you.”

“Yep, that’s them.” She laughed and he took her hand again as they continued walking down the road, away from the past and moving into the future. One he’d get right. No more excuses. No more uncertainty.

When they reached the white-steepled church, he looked up the steps and exhaled deeply.

“Oh, there’s the girls.”

Rhett glanced across the street at the coffee shop, finding Peyton and Remy waving at them from the doorway. He turned to Kinsley again as she said, “I’m going to go stuff my face with hot chocolate and cookies.” She leaned in to give him a quick kiss. “Meet me there, okay?”

He nodded.

She took a couple of steps before he snatched her hand again, pulling her back to him. “Hey!” she squealed. “Missing me already?”

“Always.” H

e placed a harder kiss on her lips, and he knew it would be his life’s mission to put that smile she gave him on her face every day. “I’ll see you soon,” he told her.

“You will.” She walked away, finding a space in the snowbanks, then quickly crossing the street between cars. She hugged Remy and Peyton before she gave Rhett a final wave and entered the coffee shop.

Rhett turned to the church and trotted up the steps. When he went inside, he found the sanctuary quiet, all the pews empty except for one woman sitting in the front row. He turned left, heading down the stairs and into the basement, where he stopped in front of the first door.

“Dr. Adams? I’m Rhett West.”

Standing in the doorway of the small meeting room, Rhett took in the group of five men and two women sitting in chairs in a circle. A man with salt-and-pepper hair nodded and waved him forward. “Rhett, we’re glad to have you.” Dr. Adams gestured to the one empty chair across from him. “Please, come sit.”