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She throws her arms around me as she jumps, and I have no choice but to catch her in my arms. My hands instinctively cup her ass and I clutch her against me. Her legs wrap around my waist, her arms wrap around my neck, and she hugs me tightly.
I selfishly take a moment to breathe her in, to hug her tightly, to just absorb the feel of her in my arms, loving me.
She pulls back from the hug and smiles at me. "I'm so proud of you."
"I missed you," I tell her, honestly. I ached with missing her. And now I get to miss her every day for the rest of my life. Because I know if I walk away from Cam and Alexsei, I walk away from her, too.
At least I'm leaving her in good hands.
"I missed you, too, but I think I've worked out a way that I can go with you guys on the road when you go to the championship!" Her eyes are sparkling and she's practically giddy as she tells me.
I feel like my breath is jammed in my lungs as she says when we go to the championship. She believes we’ll make it.
"Elise and Austin have already said that they can cover while I’m gone. And I actually turned down an order today." She beams as she delivers the news.
I have to chuckle. "You're kidding."
She shakes her head, her grin growing. "Nope. It was a huge order, too. It was actually for a hockey party for the first game of the championship series. They’re planning ahead, too. And I said no. I said the bakery was going to be closed because we were going to be out of town at that time. And you know what?"
I can't help but squeeze her. I'm actually proud of her for this. "What?"
"The woman laughed and said she should've expected that!”
Her laugh jabs me in the gut. I'm gonna miss that so fucking much.
"That's amazing," I tell her sincerely. "I'm glad you figured out that you don't have to work your ass off all the time."
Her smile softens. "Turns out, that as much as I love my job and as much of a part of my identity as it is, I have found other things that I love even more, other things I want to spend my time on, and other things—okay, people—who have become as much part of my identity as being a baker and a businesswoman. I want to be there with you guys.”
She's killing me. Seeing her blossoming like this, seeing her becoming the woman that she's becoming, I fucking want to be a part of that.
Dammit, I have been a part of that. How can I walk away?
"Hey, we need to talk,” I say before I can chicken out. “I was waiting out here for you."
There's something in my tone that catches her attention. Her expression grows serious. "Is everything okay?"
I take a deep breath and let her slide down my body. "Not really."
She steps back fully, her arms across her stomach. "You're scaring me."
I wish I could reassure her. But this is just gonna suck. "Alexsei and I were talking and we feel like Crew needs to know what’s going on. Alexsei is tired of hiding how he feels about you from your brother."
Her eyes widen, but then she nods. "I've been thinking about that, too. It feels weird to keep this from him. I'm so happy. And it's with a friend of his and his coach. He loves you both. He's going to be fine."
I swallow hard and tuck my hands in my pockets to keep from reaching for her. "The thing is, I can't do that."
She frowns. "You can't do what?"
"This. With you and the guys."
"Oh, Owen," she said softly, and I can already see the tears shimmering in her eyes. "Don't do this."
"It's not what you think," I say. "I really like the guys. I care about them. And I love you. And, I don't care what people think or say. It is not that."
"Then what?"
"Cam and Alexsei are really good for you. Like really good. And they’re really good for each other.” I blow out a breath. “And you're really good for them."
