Page 59 of Let Me Love You
“Blue. Blue. Blue.” The hushed words fan against my cheeks as her chin dips in the tiniest of nods, and a smile stretches across her face, making her more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her. And fuck me if I’m not the luckiest man alive.
“Is that a yes, Kate?”
“That’s a yes, Mack.”
My heart gallops, and I kiss her again. It's more teeth than lips this time. But I can’t stop smiling.This.This is what it’s supposed to feel like. To love someone. To be engaged to someone. To tie your future to someone.
Excitement. Anticipation. Peace.
My grin broadens, and I kiss the tip of her nose. “I love you, Kate.”
“I love you, Mack.”
I press another kiss to her lips, feeling like I’m on top of the world. Because I am. I’m on top of the world. I get to marry Kate Winchester. I get a second chance. When I pull away, I chuckle dryly and shake my head, a surreal feeling flooding my system as my mind catches up with this morning’s turn of events. “I’m gonna be a dad again.”
“Mm-hmm,” she hums.
“You’re gonna be a mom.”
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head like she can’t believe it, either. “I know.”
“You nervous?”
Her smile falters. “Scared out of my freaking mind.”
I laugh and kiss her again. “You’re gonna be a great mom.”
“And the whole epilepsy portion of things?” she challenges. The same overwhelming vulnerability shines in her gray eyes.
“We’ll get through it,” I promise. “We’ll get through anything. Together.”
“Together,” she repeats, letting the words ease the nerves buzzing through her system. Her smile returns to full force. “I love you, Mack.”
“Love you too, Kate.”
20
MIA
The band is killing it on the stage. They’re not Broken Vows, but they’re pretty good. Alternative rock with a dash of blues. My head bobs up and down with the beat as I wipe out a freshly-washed glass with a clean towel when someone approaches me at the bar.
If it isn’t the devil himself.
“Hello again, Professor,” I greet him. “Two trips to SeaBird in one week?”
“It’s been a tough one,” he grumbles.
“You know, if you lost the suit, you might not stick out like a sore thumb around here.”
“Yeah.” He looks down at his dark, fitted suit making him look like a GQ model. As he smooths down the rich fabric, light reflects off the Rolex wrapped around his sexy wrist and catches my attention. I didn’t know wrists could be sexy, but with the dapple of dark hair and veins popping along the top of his hand, I stand corrected. Not surprising since the man was voted the sexiest bachelor alive prior to his girlfriend taking him off the market. If that isn’t an accomplishment, I don’t know what is.
“Guess I forget I don’t look like a student anymore,” he adds dryly, assessing his odd choice of clothes compared to everyone else around him.
Yeah, no. Not even close. The guy might not be a student anymore, but he’s aged like a fine fucking wine. I started paying attention to the Buchanan name when I found out Evelyn Buchanan, Henry’s little sister, was dating my father’s killer. Well, technically, two men were arrested for my dad’s murder, but still.
Thankfully, the Buchanans weren’t involved in my father’s disappearance. However, their names were still dragged through the mud, thanks to Henry’s dad running for Senator at the time.
After the police made the connection, the Buchanan name hit the newspapers for weeks. Henry was friends with the guy too. Troy McAdams. The frat boy asshole who became friends with the lowlife loan shark who killed my dad and asked Troy to help him cover his tracks.