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My face burned as I remembered the night of the Christmas party when I’d thrown myself at him. I felt Cal shift forward as if to say something, but I held out my hand to stop him. If anyone was going to defend me, it was me.
But before I could say anything, Zach continued.
“I lied to you,” he said, meeting my eyes again. They were so full of anguish and sorrow, I thought my heart would fall right out of my chest. “I was never, ever sick of you being right there. From the moment we met, you brought this light into my life that I thought had been burned out forever. I wanted what you were offering me that night. I wanted it so damn bad.”
He rubbed his hands over his face before looking at me again. “Fuck, I don’t know how to do this,” he admitted. Then he looked around at all the people, noticed the kids and said, “Sorry kids, don’t say bad words because it’s… bad.”
I felt my heart explode when Zach looked at me helplessly. I found myself walking toward him, not really noticing as people parted like the Red Sea for me. When I went to step up onto the picnic table, Zach reached a hand down to help me.
“You’re doing pretty good,” I said with a wet laugh. “I’ll put money in the swear jar for you.”
Zach laughed and relaxed considerably. He was holding one of my hands in his while he used the other to cup my cheek. “I’ve missed you so much,” he said softly.
“Me too,” I agreed with a nod. The people around us faded to the background as Zach caressed my face.
“Lucky, sweetheart, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’ve been so stupid. So selfish. I took the gift of your love, of your patience and I… I don’t deserve you,” he said softly. “But I want you so much. So much.” He took a deep breath and stood up straighter, reaching back to pull something out of his back pocket. When he brought his hand back around, he dangled something green above his head.
Someone said, “Is that mistletoe?” and someone else asked, “Where the hell did he get mistletoe in July?”
I stepped closer, wondering if all of this was really happening.
“Lucky,” he continued. “I love you. So much.” He dropped his eyes briefly and studied his shoes. “I do trust you. With my heart, with my soul, with every part of me.” He raised his eyes. “I’m sorry if I ever made you doubt that. I will always fight for us. If you still want—”
“I do,” I cut in and pushed into his arms. When I pulled him down for a kiss, he came easily and then his mouth was on mine.
Zach put his arms around me so he could give me a proper kiss. The kind that left me breathless by the time he released me. He tipped his forehead against mine. “I love you,” he whispered.
“Love you,” I returned, my voice cracking a little as I tried to blink back tears. A commotion coming from around the table soon got our attention.
“Mom! Mom, what are you doing?” I heard Lolly’s boyfriend exclaim. She was halfway up on the picnic table with us.
“WHAT?” she yelled to her son. The man and Aunt Lolly went to grab the woman before she could hurt herself.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” he repeated. “THEY’RE MAKING UP!”
“I’M GETTING IN LINE. THE BIG ONE HAS MISTLETOE!”
“WANDA, THE MISTLETOE IS SO HE CAN KISS LUCKY. ONLY LUCKY!”
Wanda looked beyond disappointed as she allowed Aunt Lolly and her son to help her down to the ground.
“Hold that thought, baby,” Zach said, then he gave me a quick kiss. I then watched my delicious Army Ranger hero climb off the table, hold the mistletoe over his head, and give Wanda a peck on her cheek before handing the mistletoe to her with a grin.
Several old ladies as well as a few younger ones were crowding the table and yelling things like, “Me next!” and “Get in line!” I began laughing as Wanda cradled the mistletoe protectively against her chest and told the women around her to “get in line.”
“Uh, Lucky,” Zach said as he eyed the growing crowd.
“Welcome to Haven, Zach,” I said with a chuckle.
“Help me,” he implored as he gripped my hand.
I opened my mouth to tell the crowd to keep their lips to themselves when I spotted my fathers standing near the grill. Well, Bennett was standing while Xander was sitting, but neither man looked too pleased.
“Um, okay, so here’s the thing,” I said to Zach. “It’s either them,” I explained as I motioned to the rambunctious crowd waiting to kiss him. “Or it’s them.” I nodded in the direction of my parents. Zach tensed and then looked back and forth between the crowd and the parental units. Then he looked at me.
