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I didn’t need everything. “As long as I get us, I’ve got everything I need.”
He smiled. “You’re sure?”
I nodded, certain I wanted forever with this man more than my next breath.
His hand slipped beneath my hair, gently holding the back of my neck as my face angled upward. “Because if you’re having second thoughts, now’s the time to speak up.”
New worry spiked in the pit of my stomach. “Are you having second thoughts?”
“Not even a little. I’d marry you tomorrow if it gave us enough time to plan everything. I’m all in.”
His words reassured me and my panic subsided. “I love you.”
Closing the distance, he nuzzled the edge of my nose with his then placed a delicate kiss on my lips. “I know this is a lot for you, but I’m here. We’re in this together. And Quinn will be at your beck and call.”
I was beginning to understand that a wedding was something completely different from a marriage. “I look forward to the moment we say I do.”
“Me too, baby.” He pressed a kiss to my lips and chuckled. “Then you’ll truly be mine.”
I was still processing the permanence of such a concept. Forever was a big promise. I wasn’t worried about marrying Hale. But I was terrified he’d grow bored or get annoyed with me.
Too many times in life, people had politely asked me to be less—less hyper, less messy, less neurotic. I’d been programmed by experience to shrink myself down before others got tired of me or they inevitably rejected me.
Lower your voice, Rayne.
Sit up straight, Rayne.
Don’t snort when you laugh, Rayne.
Your hips are too wide, Rayne.
You shouldn’t swear so much, Rayne.
Suck it in, Rayne.
If you dressed differently, people would treat you differently, Rayne.
But Hale didn’t like when I kept things inside. He wanted to know what I was thinking. He demanded I show him my authentic self. He said he liked the real me. All of me.
I should be flattered, which I was, but I was also scared because I was a lot.
Hale was my world now. I couldn’t imagine a life without him, so I constantly found myself trying to temper my weirdness so he didn’t change his mind and leave me.
“Rayne?” His thumb glided along my jaw as he looked at me in that way that told me I could never convincingly lie to him.
I really believed he could read my mind at times and see all the crazy neurosis I hoped to hide.
When I met his stare, he said, “You’re who I want.”
He sounded sincere, but…
I let out a breath and pressed my forehead against his shoulder. “I warned you.”
When we started dating, I told him I wasn’t good with commitment. Depending on me for anything more than a piece of gum in a pinch was a lot to ask.
“And I warned you, didn’t I?” His body pressed against mine like a thunder blanket, calming and warming, exactly what I needed to feel grounded again. “I told you I wasn’t letting you go, so stop eyeing the exits whenever you feel overwhelmed and start looking to your partner. This is about both of us. You can’t get married alone.”
With a sigh, I nodded. “I know.” But deep down I also knew how busy Hale was.
