“A little. Some. Enough to know I’m an asshole.”
She shook her head. “No. I misled you and let you believe I was doing the one thing I promised I wouldn’t do. I panicked. Mark told me if I didn’t do the movie, he’d send the video to TMZ.” Her voice cracked. “All I could think about was what that would do to you.”
“Mickie, why didn’t—” She could have told him.
“I didn’t want you to know the video was still out there until I was certain it could never hurt you or the rest of your family. Paying off Chuck is nothing to me.”
Paying off Chuck?
“Wait!” He lifted hand. “You paid off Chuck?”
Biting her lower lip, she nodded. “Yes. He was given money for the copies of the video. And he signed a very extensive document stating he would end up in prison if the video ever surfaced again. Hell, he’s not even allowed to talk about it.”
Fuck, she’d gone so far above and beyond.
It was then he realized that video no longer held the power over him it once had. The thought of losing Michaela struck fear into his heart release of the video couldn’t touch. She was the most essential thing in his life, not what happened one fateful night over twenty years ago. He’d come to terms with the world seeing that video. What he couldn’t do was let Mickie destroy her life to protect him. What happened in the present was more important than what happened in the past. Hell, Mickie had taught him that lesson with her bravery and resilience. She’d owned up to a tumultuous history full of questionable choices that had been analyzed and judged by the world a hundred times over, yet she’d moved on and become stronger, more grounded, and happier.
What a fool he’d been to put her in this position. To cling to events of the past he had no control over even back then and certainly not now.
“You shouldn’t have.” He shook his head. He could have handled Chuck his own way without her losing money. “I’ll pay you back. However long it takes.”
“Of course I should have, Keith. It’s only money. And it’s legal and takes care of the problem forever. Now we know for certain we never have to worry about it. And you’ll do no such thing. It was my decision and my money.”
“We?” he asked tilting his head. He barely heard anything after that incredible two-lettered word.
He could barely breath, so terrified she didn’t mean it.
“Yes, we, Keith I—”
He grabbed her face. “I love you Michaela Hudson. I fucking love you so much.” Then he kissed her and kissed her and kissed her until she sagged against him with a whimper. “I’m so sorry for how I acted the other day,” he said between kisses. “I was a goddammed idiot.”
“I’m sorry too. I freaked and rushed out of Vermont without thinking. I was just in a panic. Once I got on the plane and had hours to sit, I was able to formulate this plan. I was heading back to you tonight to beg you to forgive me.”
“Baby, there’s nothing to forgive. Thank you for wanting to protect me. Thank you for caring about my family enough to protect all of them.”
“Keith, there’s nothing to thank me for. I love you. And I will always protect you and your family. I know this might be presumptuous, but I feel like they’re my family now, too.”
She loved him. God, she fucking loved him. “Not presumptuous at all. Trust me when I tell you they’d pick you for the family over me.”
She laughed and kissed him, making his heart soar like a hero in a cheesy movie.
“There’s one other thing,” he said as he drew his head back.
Her forehead scrunched. “Okay?”
“I just want you to know that if you ever decide you want to do another movie, I won’t stand in your way.”
“Keith, I—”
“Wait. I know you don’t want to. This isn’t about me not believing you want to be in Vermont. It’s about me telling you I love you and I trust you. So if it ever did happen, I won’t freak out and I won’t be scared that you’ll leave me. Because I trust you. And I love you.”
Her smile lit his fucking world. “I don’t want to. And I won’t want to. But I understand what you are saying, and your trust is the best gift you could ever give me. Thank you,” she whispered, choked up.
He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against him. Hell, he might never let her go at this point. “Can we go home now?” she whispered after a minute.
“Yes. I’m more ready to go home.” The big city was not the place for him.
“Good,” she said, beaming. “Because I’m ready to start the rest of our lives.” Then she linked their fingers and they left the law office hand in hand.