Page 87 of Calling a Cease-Fire

“Great,” I said with a sigh. I would get to do this all over again. Worth it.

Squaring my shoulders, I moved past her, but froze right outside the room as Zack’s voice filtered out.

“I knew one of you would find me once my PASS alarm sounded and I wasn’t answering the radio.”

Adam grunted. “You’re lucky you only have a concussion and he didn’t try to kill you.”

“What happened when you found us?” Zack asked, quickly adding, “I’m assuming you guys didn’t leave him in the basement?”

Adam huffed out a chuckle. “Seth suggested we do just that. But after everything he did, I really want to see him convicted. I kind of enjoyed tackling him and then throwing his ass up through the damn hole. Seth had the honor of dragging him out.”

Zack laughed. “A little payback for shooting you?”

“Can we not revisit that memory please?” Lyla pleaded. I could hear the hurt and frustration in her voice. It would take her a while to get past that whole thing. And yeah, I got it. Her next words did make me smile, though. “Now that the arsonist will be spending a lot of time behind bars, maybe you two can stop playing hero?”

I took a deep breath and pushed into the room. “I second that.”

The surprise on Zack’s face as he stared at me was comical. I tried to silently convey everything I was feeling and wanted to say as I stared at him. But he tamed the cocky smile I could tell was trying to break through, crossed his arms over his chest, and raised a brow.

Jerk. But I deserved it. And he deserved my words.

I turned to Adam and Lyla, directing my words to my best friend first.

“You have been so important to me for as long as I can remember. Always there. Always supportive. We’ve been more like sisters than just friends.” I took a steadying breath. “And I hate that I’ve been hiding something from you.”

She crossed her arms. “Does it have anything to do with the fact that Zack has been acting like a mopey puppy dog for the past two days?”

“Yes.” I glanced back at him as I answered her question. “I made a big mistake. I wasn’t ready to admit it, but I love him. And I hurt him because I was scared.”

His smile this time stretched to his eyes, showing me those adorable fucking dimples.

“You what?” Lyla squeaked, surprise evident in her tone.

I looked back at her. “I love him. So freaking much. And I’m just praying he forgives me for being such an unaware idiot.”

He opened his arms wide. “Come here, baby.”

Something like a whimper left my lips, and I hurried around to the other side, climbing into his bed and holding him tight. He wrapped his arms around me, and it felt so right. So perfect. I held back happy tears, knowing we had more to talk about.

“I love you too,” he whispered to the top of my head.

Happiness and relief spread through my body. I’d never experienced this kind of utter joy hearing those words before. And although it was a new feeling, it was also a welcome one.

I met Lyla’s gaze. “I need you to be okay with this.”

“Are you kidding me?” she shrieked, and I couldn’t tell if it was a good or bad type of shriek. “This is so amazing. Oh my God, we can have like a ton of double dates. Dual weddings. Have babies at the same time…”

I stiffened slightly as her voice got even higher-pitched on that last one. But, even though the thought still shocked me, the idea of forever with him didn’t scare me anymore.

Adam wrapped his arm around Lyla’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s give them some time together.” He turned, shooting Zack a wink over his shoulder, and led her out of the room.

“I’m not asking for any of that right now,” Zack jumped in quickly the minute they were out of the room. “We can take this as slow as you need.”

I glanced up at him and smirked. “What? Didn’t like the idea of dual weddings and babies?”

“If I say I love the idea, will you run away?”

I ran my fingers through his hair and shook my head. “No. You’re not getting rid of me that easily now.” I took a breath, needing to tell him something since we were on the topic. “But if I don’t ever want kids, will that be a deal breaker for you?”