Page 154 of Unwritten Rules

But instead of leading me to a meeting room or even the bleachers, she zigs and zags until we’re walking past empty dressing rooms, eventually out onto the field.

It’s lit by the natural light of the evening, and as such, it looks vastly different to game days, when the enormous spotlights illuminate everything.

“Um…Rachel?”

She stops and smiles. “We’re almost there, Mila. Don’t worry.” Her eyes twinkle before she continues. “Everything will turn out alright.”

My brain starts to spin as my feet automatically follow after my guide until she leads me to the pitcher’s mound. Butterflies stir in the depths of my stomach as she directs me to stand on the mound.

“He’ll be out in just a moment.”

I nod dumbly, watching her walk back the way we’d come. Then, no more than thirty seconds after she’s disappeared from sight, I hear the speakers hum to life around the stadium.

“Hey.”

The butterflies in my stomach spring to life at that one word spoken by the person I love more than life. My vision blurs with unshed tears.

“I know what you did, Hellcat.”

The tears fall unheeded, clearing the image before me. My heart falters in my chest when I see Nate has just walked out onto the pitch. Slowly putting one foot in front of the other, he moves closer toward me as I remain rooted to the spot.

“And I’m here to make things right.”

I dash the tears from my face, my gaze intent on his handsome, much-missed features.

“You once told me that knowing a life-altering love for any period of time, no matter how short-lived, is worth living a thousand lifetimes without ever having experienced its beauty...”

He trails off as he edges ever closer, pinning me beneath his dark gaze. Forcing me to feel every word that spills from his beautiful lips.

“But I’m about to set you straight, baby.”

Having closed the gap sufficiently, he flicks off the mic and drops it to the ground with a soft thud, continuing to prowl closer.

“No amount of time with you will ever be enough. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months…fuck, millennia doesn’t even come close to being enough, baby. Now that I’ve experienced Heaven in your arms, I can’t – and I fucking won’t – go back to the life I once had.”

He takes a breath, his eyes roving across my face as he finally closes the gap between us so that we are toe-to-toe, heart-to-heart.

“Nathaniel, I—”

He places his forefinger over my lips. “I stayed away from you, Hellcat. I uprooted my life and moved back to fucking Surrey in an effort to keep a lid on my undeniable longing, but I couldn’t get you out of my head. Out of my heart. When I gave in to my feelings, I knew what that entailed. I knew I risked losing everything else in my life – friendships, my position at Walden-Forbes, my estate – none of it fucking mattered because in having you, I have everything.”

I swallow a sob, desperately striving to get a grip on my emotions, but Nate keeps going, owning me entirely with each and every word that tumbles from his beautiful mouth.

“All my life, I’ve seen my share of misfortune. My mother’s ill health and early death. Xavier’s barely-concealed hatred. Zara’s betrayal. My goddamn writer’s block…I’ve secretly hoped for the tides to change. To somehow show me there’s more to life than dashed hopes and disappointment. To give me a real-life miracle.”

Tears silently stream down my cheeks, but he continues to slay me with his honesty.

“Don’t you see, Mila DeMarco?” He places his large palms on my cheeks, dropping his brow against mine to tip our noses together, a simple move that never fails to make my heart clench. “You’re my once-in-a-lifetime. You’re my miracle. Your heart is my home, Hellcat.”

His swirling eyes flicker as they absorb each of my features when his breath ghosts across my lips, and his words speak straight to my heart.

“Please, Hellcat. Let me come home.”

I choke on a sob and a fresh wave of tears fills my eyes as he tilts my head down to allow him to drop a comforting kiss on my forehead.

We stand like that for a long beat, my heart almost palpitating right out of my chest until he whispers against my forehead, “I love you.”

Suddenly my body jolts to life, and I throw my arms around his neck, pulling his mouth down to meet mine as I cry, “I love you. I love you, Nathaniel. So fucking much.”