Black

“Do you remember what I said to you when you woke up from your nightmare?”

I nod, a fresh wave of tears forming. “You said you’ve been searching for me your entire life.”

“It’s true. I knew… When you cried out for Cami, everything fell into place for me. The age your parents died, you being adopted, some of the other things you would say in your sleep—it all clicked, and I knew that you were the girl who’d saved me all those years ago.”

“What? I didn’t save you, Rex. You saved me. You let me go.”

“No, baby. Trust me, you saved me. If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve followed in my father’s footsteps. But your act of kindness—offering me your inhaler—and the pain I saw in your eyes when you heard Cami scream, they stuck with me. I’ve carried those thoughts around with me every day, pulling them out when I needed a reminder of why I have to live a clean life. I wanted to be better for you. I wanted to make a good life in your name, because my family took so much away from you.”

“Rex.”

“So yes, I’ve been searching for you my entire life, and I’m not ever letting you go. I don’t care about our parents and what happened between them. That doesn’t touch us, got it?”

My chin quivers, my shattered heart slowly putting itself back together. “Got it.” My voice is thick, barely audible, but Rex hears me. He always hears me.

“You, Shae, stole a piece of my heart long before I was ready to give it away. But I’m ready now. You’re a part of my life. You’re my family, and I know I still have to prove myself, but believe me when I tell you that you can trust me with your life. My loyalty is with you, always with you. And no matter what happens, I need you to remember that.”

“This is what I wished for at the skating rink,” I confess. “I wished for us to make it through this mess. I knew my secrets, my life, would cause a whirlwind of disasters, but I wanted to keep you, Rex Ambrosi, so that’s what I wished for.”

“Shae.” Eyes full of emotion, he drops his forehead to mine. “I don’t know—”

“Shhh.” I press a finger to his lips, and he kisses the pad. “I wasn’t done talking.”

He blinks once, silently giving me the go-ahead, and I take a deep breath, because what I have to say is huge—life-alteringly huge.

“I love you, Rex.”

His eyes close as soon as the words pass my lips, and a tear falls down his cheek. I wipe it away.

“You don’t have to say it back; I just want you to know how I feel.”

“Say it again,” he whispers.

“I love you.” I sit up in bed, pulling him with me so I can cradle his face in my hands. “I love you, Rex Ambrosi. Only you. ”

Whether he says the words or not, I see them in his eyes. I feel them in his touch. I’m a part of him just as much as he’s a part of me.

He wraps his warm arms around me. “The past few days have been hell. When you hit your head and didn’t wake up…” He shakes his head as though he’s still trying to grasp everything that’s happened. “I didn’t know if you were okay, and that scared me to death because I love you too, and I was so afraid I’d never get the chance to tell you.”

“You love me?”

I’ve waited so long for someone other than a friend to say those three little words and mean them. I’ve prayed for this kind of love. This deep, soul-piercing, forever kind of love.

“So much,” he says, kissing away my tears.

“Say it again.”

His lips land on my cheek. “I love you. With everything I have and everything I am, I love you.” He kisses the tip of my nose and then my forehead. “You own every inch of my heart, Shae Black, and every piece of my soul.”

And then his lips find mine, and he shows me just how true those words are.

I love you.

One year later

The sound of a horn jolts me awake, and I blink heavily, finding my arms and legs wrapped around Rex like a pretzel. His breathing is slow and steady, and I push up on my elbow, taking a moment to watch him sleep.

Running my hand along his jaw, I smile, remembering the way his stubble felt brushing against my inner thighs. Everything about this man is perfect—from the tip of his jet black hair down to his toes—and a year later, I still find myself wondering what I did to deserve him.