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He knocked on the front door, but no one came to answer it. Turning, he took up a spot on the top step, determined to talk to Hannah before he did anything else.
“I’m ready,” he told himself again and again, whispering it when it felt like many minutes had passed and she still hadn’t returned to the ranch.
He felt like throwing up again, and then the sound of tires crunching over gravel met his ears. He froze, but his stomach roiled violently.
Hannah’s dark sedan came into view, and she pulled past the parking area out front and down the driveway. She parked in the open garage, and he heard the slamming of her door once she’d gotten out.
She must not have seen him sitting there, because she didn’t come out of the garage, and he heard her voice on the air.
“…too much spice. I’m not into the spicy stuff, Emma.” Her voice ebbed away, and then it disappeared as she went inside the house.
Luke’s heart pounded as he stood. He could ring the doorbell again.
He could.
He stood in front of the door, his hands at his sides. “Come on,” he muttered, but he still didn’t lift his hand to press the button.
A moment later, the door opened, and Hannah stood there, her phone at her ear. “You’re right,” she said. “He’s here. I have to go.” She lowered the phone from her ear, but Luke couldn’t say anything.
She was everything he wanted, and he couldn’t look away from her wide, surprised eyes, her pink-painted lips, and all of that hope and desperation pouring from her.
“I love you,” he blurted. “So much has happened, and the only person I need to tell is you. The only person I think about when I think about coming home, is you.”
He drew in a breath. “I’m sorry I left like I did. I wasn’t anticipating the way everything overcame me, and I’m sure I handled it all wrong.”
He swallowed, unsure of what else it would take to win over Hannah Otto. She wasn’t terribly dramatic, but she knew what she liked and what she didn’t.
“Do you think…is there any way you might be able to forgive me?” he asked. “Do I even have a shot at a second chance with you?”
Hannah blinked, her shock gone from her expression now. She tucked her phone in her back pocket and settled her weight on one foot. She studied him, letting her gaze slide down to his feet and then back to his face.
“You have a very good shot,” she said.
Just like that, Luke’s whole world became brighter. He started to smile, noticing the way her lips curved upward too.
“Do you really love me?” she asked.
“With everything I have,” he said, taking a step toward her. “I know it might not be much right now, but I’m getting better every single day. I’d boxed away so many emotions, but I’ve been slowly pulling them out and forcing myself to deal with them.”
“I see,” she said, falling back a step.
He closed the distance between them again. “Where were you?”
“I’ve been over at Jess’s for a few days,” she said. “Helping with the kids while she and Dallas have been in the hospital.”
He nodded. “I need to go see them, but I wanted to talk to you first.” He stepped into her personal space, hesitating as his hand lingered only inches from her waist.
“Go on,” she whispered. “You’ve been torturing me for weeks. You’re here now. Kiss me.”
“I didn’t mean to torture you.”
“Luke, you’ve been in my head since the day I met you.” Hannah touched his chest, breaking the barrier between them. His hand landed on her waist, and he drew her into his arms.
“I love you,” he whispered again.
“And I love you, Luke Holt.” Her eyes drifted closed, and Luke lowered his head to kiss her.
The same explosive chemistry that had existed between them since the first day they’d met flowed through him, and just like the first time he’d kissed her, he found he never wanted to stop.
