Kian

“You wouldn’t.”

“Asking you to come out of hiding? You wouldn’t be normal. You won’t be now either, but somewhere down the line, it stopped being about the building, and it became about seeing you. I was falling for you more and more.

“I wanted to protect you, then and now. I sent my team away. I didn’t want their input. They were there to help protect me in case the DA tried to charge me again. They wanted to make sure I wouldn’t do anything that could incriminate me. They were never about hurting you. I swear to Snark, I never would’ve allowed it either.”

I nodded, letting his words wash over me. My lips twitched. Snark would’ve loved that comment.

“I fell deeper and deeper in love with you.”

“Really?”

He nodded, cupping both sides of my face now. “Yes. I think I fell in love with you the moment I saw you in that window.”

That moment…it was the worst one in my life. Now it was the best.

My throat wasn’t working. No words could get out. My entire face was wet from my tears. I couldn’t get them to stop either. Nothing was working, so my hands closed over his, and I just held on.

“I love you, Jordan,” he said. “I should’ve said all of this to you last night, or hell, even before then. When I woke up this morning, I felt it in my soul that you were gone. I just can’t lose you. That’s all I know. I love you, Jordan Emory.”

A baseball-sized lump was at the bottom of my throat, but I needed him to feel how much I felt the same. My hands gripped his so hard. “I love you, too. I don’t know when it happened, but I realized it after the interview. I haven’t been able to stay away from you.”

Relief showed on his face before his lips were on mine.

After that, as I wound my arms tight around his neck, pressing myself to get as close to him as possible, nothing else mattered. Everything would be fine. The public, the media, school, and even my job would all work out. It would have to because, for once, I wasn’t going to hide anymore. I loved Kian. I was going to stay by his side, no matter who came after us. There was just no other way. I couldn’t stay away from him.

I clasped on to him tighter, and I wasn’t going to let him go. As if feeling everything I was thinking, Kian lifted me. His lips never left mine. I knew where he was taking me, and my legs wound around his waist. I’d stay all day with him in bed. All day. All night. All week. Just us. That was it. Screw everyone else.

As he took me to the bedroom, laying us both down onto the bed, I welcomed his weight. I savored it because he was here.

He was mine.

When Kian told me he wanted to take me somewhere, I didn’t question the time. Three in the morning was almost normal for us now. That was when we went places, like earlier in the week. We filmed our first interview together. It was kept a secret. I was nervous, but Laura said it went great. And if Kian’s publicist approved, that was all that mattered. I was learning it was better to get along with the petite and feisty bombshell, then go against her. She proved to be invaluable. Since my own interview, when I mentioned Justin by name, social media exploded. Someone found out his full name, and outed him where he went to college. A girl came forward, saying he raped her. A second. A third, and two more. Laura sent someone from her team to the town to monitor the situation. She worried Justin would speak out against Kian or myself. He had no grounds to speak publicly against us and she had no idea what he would say, but she was waiting to see if he threw any retribution our way.

That was the reason we went out this morning. Kian told me we had a meeting with Laura, but he turned into my old job’s underground parking lot.

I was mystified. “We’re meeting her here?”

Kian only grinned. “Come on.”

My frown grew when he pulled out keys for the restaurant. It deepened when he led me to a back private banquet room. I didn’t want to meet with Laura where I used to work. It was after closing time, but sometimes the employees stayed behind. Someone could find us, and eavesdrop. I opened my mouth, ready to tell Kian my thoughts when he flipped on the light.

Erica was standing five feet from me. “Surprise, Jordan!” Her hands spread wide in the air.

It’d been five months since my interview, and life hadn’t lessened up. Instead of being hated and blamed, people were enamored with me. Well, they were enamored with Kian. He never left my side. Anytime I had to leave the hotel for something, he was always beside me, holding my hand and shielding me if he could. We hired official security, too, but everyone could see his love for me. They were enthralled with it, much like how I was.