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I set down the paint can in my hand and turned to Walker. I stepped closer to him, moving into his space.
“I took it as a sign that all the shit in the past? Old news. Done. But that means there’s room for new beginnings.”
Walker tilted his head. “What are you saying, Macks?”
Stepping toward him, I wrapped my arms around him, not caring one bit that I was smearing more paint between our clothes. His
strong arms banded around my waist as he pulled me closer.
“I’m saying that I’m ready for us to have a new start, Walker. I’m saying that I would very much love to marry you.”
A smile wide as the world spread over his face.
“You just made my whole year. Hell, my whole life, beautiful,” he murmured, lifting one hand to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “First things first though… there’s something I have to tell you. Something I need to make sure you understand.”
I grinned up at him, my brows furrowing a little at the serious expression on his face. I felt giddy and light with joy, but I could tell whatever Walker wanted to say was important. He seemed almost nervous about it, which was funny considering I’d just agreed to marry him. What else could he have to say that topped that?
“Did you prepare a speech or something?” I teased, and he grimaced ruefully.
“Well, sort of. Let’s just say these words have been rattling around in my chest for way too long. It’s time for you to hear them.”
“Okay.” I caught his hand, holding it between my own as I gazed into his eyes. “I’m listening. You can tell me anything, Walker.”
He drew in a deep breath, and when he let it out, it seemed a little like he was realizing a heavy weight from his shoulders.
“I’m so fucking happy you agreed to marry me, Macks. But I need to apologize too. That proposal? It’s late. Years late. I’ve loved you since high school, and even when I moved away, even when my dad roped me into helping run the company, I still loved you. But I let my fear come between us. It wasn’t the miles. The distance. Distance, we could’ve overcome. What wrecked us back then was my stubbornness and stupidity. So I’m going to tell you now what I was too scared to tell you back then.”
My throat was tight. His words were raw and honest, and every one of them seemed to settle in my heart and stay there.
“What would you have said, Walker?” I whispered.
A small, rueful smile tilted his lips. “I would’ve said that no matter what life throws at us, I have to believe we can make it work. Make us work. Because you’re the only constant I have to have in my life. All I know is that I want you, Macks. I want to be with you—to have you by my side, always. Everything I’ve done and will ever do doesn’t seem worth it without you. I need you like I need fucking air. I love you.”
I closed my eyes as he spoke the last few words, letting the low rumble of Walker’s voice envelop me. It was deeper now, with a depth and gravity it hadn’t had when we were younger. But it was the same voice that had whispered in my ear as we gave our virginity to each other. It was the voice that’d told me how much he adored my art. It was the voice of the boy I’d fallen in love with, who’d turned into the man that stood before me now.
I slid my hand up to his where it cradled the side of my face and leaned up to brush my nose against his.
“I need to apologize too. You were going through a lot, and your dad was putting a ton of pressure on you. You wanted to live up to your family legacy. And then when you left me that voicemail saying you had to focus on work, I just… gave up. Being apart from you hurt me so bad, so I tried to make the break clean instead of letting things be messy. I was just trying to protect myself, and I was too afraid of how much worse I’d get hurt if I fought harder for you when I thought you were done with me.”
“God, Macks,” he murmured, his breath whispering over my lips. “Me too. I was so heartbroken and so scared, and I held onto that shit for way, way too long. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for not manning up and facing my fear. For not fighting harder to get you back.”
“Hey now.” I pulled back slightly, my gaze meeting his deep blue irises. “None of that. We could play the what if game forever. Hell, that night after we slept together for the first time, you tried to bring it up, to talk about how we ended. But even then, I was too scared to face it. It’s funny. I throw paint around and get messy for a living, but that mess? The mess of feelings between us? I was too afraid to delve into that. I wanted to keep things in neat little boxes, but emotions don’t work that way. I thought when you left for Tokyo you just fell out of love with me, and I didn’t want to risk letting that happen again. But I was never brave enough to ask—to talk about what happened.”
He cut me off with a kiss, molding our lips together as his tongue stroked against mine, hot and deep.
When he finally broke away, my head was spinning as warmth pooled low in my belly. Walker threaded his fingers through my hair, gazing down at me.
“You’re right. We both let fear hold us back. But you know what, Macks? I’m not afraid anymore.”
“We’ve both been very silly about this whole thing, haven’t we?” I asked, a smile flitting over my lips.
“Oh, yeah, definitely.” He chuckled, but I could tell he meant his next words. “How about in the future, we have the tough conversations? We don’t let fear shut us up or turn us away from each other. We fight and we make up, but we never stop talking to each other. And Macks?” He lifted an eyebrow, humor dancing in his cobalt eyes. “We can get as messy as you want.”
My lips pressed together to hide my laugh. It was a goofy but perfect solution. And he was right. It was just what our relationship needed. The two of us had almost lost each other for good over a breakup that never would’ve lasted if either of us had the guts to reach out. I wouldn’t let that happen again.
“You’ve got yourself a deal, Mr. Prince.”
Walker tipped my chin up, pressing another small kiss to my lips. “Good. So… should I ask my question again?”
