Kane (Arizona Vengeance 8)

I suspect if Jim uses half that much rational perspective on his marriage, Ella won’t stand a chance.

There’s a knock at the door, and I freeze in mid-stride.

Mollie.

She’d left behind her key to my place—something that felt like an arrow piercing through my heart at the finality it represented—and it pains me now that she can’t just walk in. I had left the door unlocked, but I guess she doesn’t feel right coming in without an invitation.

Foolish woman.

I stride across the living room, yanking the door open so fast it sucks in a draft of air from the hallway.

And there she stands, so fucking beautiful and with a smile I don’t need interpreted. She’s happy to see me, just as I am to see her.

I know words need to be said. For the moment, though, it’s more important for me to pull her into my arms and hug the shit out of her. She doesn’t hesitate, wrapping her arms around me.

Then I kiss the fuck out of her, and there’s no hesitation there either. She responds with an equal outpouring of emotion as our tongues dance.

We break apart, knowing if we were to continue much longer, we’d probably just end up naked on the living room floor. Before we go there, we need to talk.

So many things need to be said.

Looking out in the hallway, I ask, “Where’s Samson?”

“I left him with my parents for now,” she says, stepping across the threshold.

That causes my stomach to tighten into a painful knot. Leaving Samson infers she’s not going to be staying here. She would never want to be parted from him.

It didn’t occur to me that perhaps she came back so we could have some type of better closure than what we’d had. When she asked to talk, I’d assumed it was so we could agree on a plan to allow us to be together.

Fuck if I’m going to let her even get those words out if together isn’t what she wants.

Mollie reaches the couch, turns to face me, and opens her mouth to speak. I rush to beat her to the punch, but I’m too late. We both end up talking at the same time.

And we end up saying the exact same thing, too.

“I was wrong.”

Mollie’s eyebrows shoot upward, and my mouth drops open.

“What did you just say?” we both repeat, again at the same time.

“Jinx,” Mollie exclaims with a grin.

Laughing, I shake my head. “Did we both just agree that we were wrong?”

“I think we did,” she replies, then takes a seat on the couch. “Come here and sit beside me. I’ll go first because it should be ladies first, then you can go.”

“Deal,” I reply, my heart starting to feel lighter. I settle next to her, both of us angling in toward each other.

Mollie takes my hand. “I was wrong even to consider that Australia trip.”

It seems like hearing her say that would feel validating to me. Just three days ago, I hadn’t wanted her to go. Instead, I feel like I’ve robbed her of something, which doesn’t sit well. Regardless, I make myself listen to what she has to say.

“I was looking at the short game,” she explains with a wry smile. “But I realized… you and I have an exceedingly long game time. And that I have plenty of time left to go to Australia one day. Maybe even once you retire from the league, it could be our first big adventure together. But what I realized more than anything was that you are the most important thing to me. I want to be with you, support you through this season, and be by your side. I’d been temporarily dazzled by that offer because travel is all I know how to do. But it just sort of hit me… none of that compares to being with you, and so… here I am to admit I was wrong.”

Her sentiments are adorable, but they don’t mesh with my new way of thinking. I shake my head, smiling at the irony.

“I think I’m the one who was wrong.” Chuckling, I explain my talk with Jim after the first period. “It’s funny… you said we’re in the long game, and I called it a marathon. We both recognize this for what it is… forever. And my thinking is, since we have forever together, you taking a year in Australia is nothing but a blip in the decades we’ll have. I think you should take it. I say that knowing even if we will have to be apart for that long, we’ll come out of it stronger than ever.”

Mollie grins as she shifts on the couch, then crawls over to sit sideways on my lap. Her arms go around my shoulders, then she brushes her lips against mine. “Well, we’ve both had a complete reversal.”