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But it was what it was.
Grabbing my keys, I hop out of the truck and square my shoulders before hitting the fob and locking it up behind me. I scan the building numbers and find the one on the address Sage had given me. Each condo sits on its own, semi-attached with a set of stairs leading up to the door.
I take the flight up two steps at a time, then feel my heart hammering in my throat like I’d just run a marathon. I can hear faint music coming from behind the door, and for a second, I almost turn and run.
But I have to be fucking brave about this. Not just for me but because I know she misses me. I know she wants something more, and she deserves to have someone fight for her.
Curling my fingers into a fist, I take a final deep breath before knocking. It takes a second, but the music fades to nothing, and then I see movement behind the peephole. There’s a long pause, and I think maybe she recognizes me and has decided not to answer the door. Then the knob turns, and her face appears in the crack.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” she demands.
God, her voice. Hearing it after so many days without her there at the lodge is like a balm to my soul. I can just make out her adorable scowl and the pile of hair she has twisted on her head into a messy bun. I can see one knee leaning against the door, and she’s wearing paint-splattered sweats.
I might only have a few inches of her, but those are the most beautiful few inches I have ever seen.
“I’m not a creep,” I blurt out.
She chokes. “Sure, yeah. You just show up at my best friend’s house unannounced while I’m here alone and tell me you’re not a creep?”
I fumble for the note and offer it to her. She hesitates, then snatches it from my fingers and unfolds it.
“Fucking Sage,” she whispers, then looks up at me. The door falls open farther, and then I can see all of her—every gorgeous thing about her. She’s a fucking mess, and all I want to do is pin her to the wall, fuck her until the only word she knows is my name, then bring her back home and never let her go.
Okay, so maybe Iama creep. Or, at the very least, a possessive asshole.
“He picked up his car yesterday,” I explain, trying to shove all those thoughts out of my head. “He said you miss me.”
“He has a big fucking mouth,” Eden snarls.
I bow my head, then look up at her. “I miss you too.”
She stiffens for a second, and then she sniffs and looks away. “You have a lot of fucking nerve, Maddox. You just… Jesus, you didn’t even say goodbye!”
Those words hit like a knife, but I deserve it. It was impossible to let her go, and if she was within arm’s reach, I know I would have kept her there—at least until she made promises she wasn’t ready for. Still, she deserved better. She deserved the choice. She deserved to know that I didn’t want to let her go.
“I’m sorry,” I say. It’s the only two words I have left. There’s no defense. There’s just me ready to beg for forgiveness.
After a beat, the fire in her eyes fades to a low simmer, and her shoulders deflate. “What are you doing here?”
I take a breath, trying to find that confidence I’m pretty sure I left up the damn mountain. I’m not used to this. I’m not used to putting myself out there. I’ve never been the kind of man who asked questions he didn’t already know the answer to.
“Maddox,” she presses when I take too long.
I lick my lips, then look her in the eye. “I’m here to do what I should have done before you left.” She sucks in a breath at that, but when I take a step closer, she doesn’t back away. She doesn’t tense either. She just holds her ground like she’s waiting for me to make a move, and I won’t make her wait long. I lift my hands and cup the sides of her neck. “I’m falling in love with you.”
Her entire body twitches like she’s surprised by my words. Hell, I’m surprised by them. I had no real idea what I was going to say until this very moment, but as the words leave my lips, I know they’re the truth.
“I know it’s fast. And it’s fucking scary. I’m… I want…” I feel the familiar static in my brain start to take hold from the stress. My lips and tongue know they’re supposed to move in the shape of words, but my brain has nothing to give them. I groan and shake my head. “I’m… it…”
She immediately realizes what’s happening, and she takes a step closer. Her movement dislodges my grip on her, and my hands fall to her waist as she presses her own to the front of my chest. Her touch is so warm, so perfect, and suddenly, I realize neither of us needs to say anything.
“Do you want to kiss me?” she asks.
If I didn’t before, I do now for that simple question that I can answer with a nod. I make myself dizzy with how hard I move my chin up and down, and it makes her laugh a little, which is the best sound in the world. Her fingers curl into my shirt, and then she tugs me, and it’s like space between us never existed.
Her body is pressed against mine, her lips seeking the kisses I’m ready to rain down on her. I wrap one arm around her waist, and the other moves to her messy bun, and I grip it tight just like I held her back up at the lodge. She groans and opens her mouth, letting me taste her. There’s a lingering sweetness and something like coffee, and I drink it all in.
“I’m sorry,” I manage when I pull away.
