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He stood.
I backed away a step when his face came close to mine—“But…”
He palmed the back of my head. “But what?”
“What will my dad say?”
“He’ll say, ‘If you hurt my baby girl, Caden Wilson, I’ll castrate you.’ ”
I blinked. “That…actually sounds like him.”
“It’s a direct quote.”
My eyes went wide. “You talked to him.”
“I told him I was an asshole, but I’d never be as big of an asshole as Tony Fry.”
I laughed, because how true was that?
“You close this gap and kiss me, and I promise no matter how angry I am in the future, I will never, ever walk away from you on account of my stupid pride. I’ll listen to everything you say, even if you’re yelling at me. You can even tie me to the bed to ensure I don’t go anywhere.”
That made me smile.
“Yeah, kitten, I like the sound of that too.” His eyes twinkled with mischief and love. “I don’t want to lose you. Not over something I should’ve been over a long time ago.”
I took a tentative step closer. “You’ll never walk away again?”
“Not as long as you let me stick around,” he said with a shake of his head.
I looped my arms around his neck, then pressed my lips to his. He returned the kiss, wrapping me in his arms and tucking me close. When his fingers slipped into my hair, our connection deepened, our tongues sparred, and cheers and shouts and clapping rose to a crescendo from the crowd.
When we parted, I was smiling, happy instead of devastated for a change.
“All aboard the Cade train?” I asked.
“There’s room for one.” He pushed my hair away from my face. “You, Tasha Montgomery. I loved you the moment I opened my eyes and saw you hovering over my hospital bed. I was just too stupid to realize it until it was too late.”
“It’s not too late,” I whispered, my eyes going blurry from unshed tears.
“Never again, Tasha.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m not going anywhere. Should we go celebrate?”
“Yes.”
Then he backed away from me, lifted the megaphone, and announced, “Drinks on me! See everyone at Oak & Sage!”
I laughed as the cheering crowd scattered like cockroaches. “Devlin and Rena will love that.”
“Well, tonight’s my last night there, so I figure I can help with the dishes,” he said.
We went to Oak & Sage with most of Ridgeway U’s campus. After his shift, Cade took me out and we drove around town in Ice Blue, the top down, our shouted conversation vanishing into the warm summer night air. Then we parked, and we made out a lot.
But not at Ridgeway State Park this time. No, this time Cade found a spot on the side of Alley Road. I never thought the run-down factory portion of town was romantic, but looking at the hydrant where he’d wrecked, and hearing him point to it and say, “that’s the night I became yours. I just didn’t know it yet,” was the most romantic moment I’ve ever experienced.
We were going to be okay, I thought now as I accepted his tongue in my mouth. I loved him for who he was, even the imperfect parts. And he loved me in spite of fearing he might not be enough.
He was, though. For me, he was more than enough.
No matter how bumpy the road became, we’d hold on to each other first. We’d come too far to give up now. And anyway, we were both pretty stubborn.
Neither of us would go down without a fight.
Only this time around, we’d fight for each other.
