Page 263 of Broken Saint
Colton Rogers proposed to me.
After everything we’ve been through.
The highs, the lows, and everything in between.
I shake my head, blowing out a slow stream of breath as our past plays out like a movie in my head.
Sure, there have been times that it’s been incredibly painful to be so utterly in love with a man who’s struggling to deem himself worthy of it. But at the same time, it’s been utterly beautiful and thrilling.
I gave my heart and soul to Colt a long time ago, knowing that he’d never truly give it back. He’s owned a part of me sincealmost the very first time I met him. And that’s something I’d never ever want to change.
People mingle around me, some of them excited about seeing family members, others drivers collecting clients, but none of them come anywhere close to stealing my attention.
My focus is firmly locked on those doors.
“Come on, Colt,” I whisper, shifting around anxiously on my feet.
My heart jumps into my throat when the doors are suddenly thrown open, but the second someone emerges, it instantly sinks again as disappointment floods through my veins.
Two more people appear, but they’re not him.
But then a shadow appears. A familiar shadow. My heart rate picks up and my hands begin to shake even more violently than before.
“Colt,” I breathe the second he appears.
My feet take on a life of their own, and before I know what’s happening, I’m racing toward him. Long before I’m close enough, my feet leave the ground as I fly through the air.
The small bag in his hand crashes to the ground just a beat before we collide.
The second his arms wrap around me, I breathe a huge sigh of relief. Tears instantly burn my eyes, and a huge, messy ball of emotion clogs my throat as he holds me so tight, so securely that I never want him to let go.
These past few days without him have been torturous. But also needed.
It’s going to take me a bit of time to get my head around everything that’s happened and be able to fully embrace the future, but I know that I’m going to do it. We’re going to do it. Together.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is it now. And it’s not because he put a ring on my finger. As much as I loveit, I know it doesn’t secure anything. What I feel is deeper than that. It’s different from every other time.
Colt and I…we’re truly us now. Everything is out in the open, all our ugly and broken bits. Somehow, we’ve found ourselves in all of this mess, and we’ve discovered that we’re actually perfectly imperfect. And that’s okay. I’m happy to embrace the bits of me that I don’t like so much, knowing that he loves me not just in spite of them, but because of them.
My heart swells to the point that I’m pretty sure it’s going to explode.
“Fuck, I missed you,” Colt confesses quietly so that only I can hear.
“Same,” I manage to force out. “I love you. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Bombshell.”
Hearing his voice, feeling his touch…it’s everything.
My skin tingles and my body heats.
It’s been so long since we’ve been physically intimate with each other. Sure, the phone sex this week has been phenomenal, but I’m so ready for us to be together again.
“Take me home,” I whisper, hating that we’re surrounded by so many people.
“I thought you’d never ask,” he says, his voice rough with his own desire.
He finally lowers me back to the ground, but thankfully, he doesn’t let go of me. Instead, after retrieving his bag, he wraps his arm around me and pulls me tightly against his side.