Chapter Ten #2
"Cruz Tate," Kinsley demanded, highly annoyed by the sudden intrusion and his refusal to let go. "What in the world are you doing here?"
Cruz didn't answer. He lifted his head, his dark, intelligent eyes mapping every inch of her face, drinking in the sight of her like a man dying of thirst. He didn't say a word, and more importantly, he refused to let go of her hand.
He just kept staring at her, his fingers wrapped securely around her pulse point.
He was terrified that if he loosened his grip, even for a fraction of a second, she would disappear back into the crowd.
Marcy walked over, carrying her basket of marigolds. Kade followed immediately, trailing half a step behind her with the wide-eyed, singular devotion of a lost puppy.
Kinsley looked at the two towering men, bewildered and deeply amused by their inability to function. She glared down at Cruz's large hand, which was still firmly, reverently attached to her wrist, but he didn't even flinch.
"Seriously, what are you all doing here?" Marcy asked, her voice calm but thoroughly surprised by the sudden ambush.
Kade opened his mouth, but no words came out. He just stared at Marcy, terrified of saying the wrong thing and ruining this impossible miracle. Cruz remained equally speechless, his eyes locked onto Kinsley’s face, his grip on her wrist steady, tender, and unyielding.
It was Connor and Leon who stepped forward to bridge the desperate silence.
"It was a coincidence, Marcy. I swear to God," Connor explained smoothly, offering the women warm, cautious smiles.
"Leon and I authorized a charitable donation for the festival a few months ago through the foundation.
The city invited the board down for the opening weekend.
We had to drag Kade and Cruz out of the office just to get them to see the sun.
We had absolutely no idea you two were anywhere near Docksend. "
Marcy exchanged a long, incredibly amused look with Kinsley.
The silent communication of soul sisters passed between them in a fraction of a second.
They looked at Kade, who refused to step away from Marcy, and they looked at Cruz, who was staring at Kinsley like she was his oxygen, his hand still locked around her wrist like a lifeline.
They both realized, with a mixture of resignation and quiet amusement, that the billionaires were absolutely not going to just walk away and leave them alone now.
"Well," Marcy sighed softly, a gentle, teasing smile touching the corners of her mouth as she resigned herself to the situation. "I suppose since you are already here, you can walk with us."
The dynamic of the walk through the festival was a spectacle.
The city of Docksend, whose citizens had been whispering about the handsome, untouchable billionaires, watched in collective shock as the two titans attached themselves firmly to the hips of two unknown women.
Cruz Tate absolutely refused to let go of Kinsley’s wrist. As they navigated the crowded cobblestone streets, he kept his hand wrapped securely around it, his thumb resting gently against her pulse.
It annoyed Kinsley to no end—she huffed, she rolled her eyes, she complained that he was restricting her hand-talking capabilities—but despite her vocal protests, her traitorous heart kept fluttering wildly at the protective, devout warmth of his touch.
He was anchoring himself to her, and a part of her loved it.
Kade walked on Marcy’s left side. He refused to step more than an inch away from her.
Every time the crowd surged, Kade would subtly shift his frame, acting as an impenetrable human shield, ensuring no one jostled her or her basket of flowers.
He hung onto her every word when she pointed out the different lanterns, his face softened by a deep, affectionate awe.
Marcy watched him, highly amused by his relentless hovering, but deep within the quiet sanctuary of her soul, her traitorous heart started thawing, warmed by his devotion.
A year of distance had changed everyone.
***
Later that evening, the festival reached its vibrant peak.
They found a quiet sanctuary at a small, wrought-iron table set beneath a breathtaking canopy of thousands of interwoven fairy lights.
In the center of the town square below them, fire dancers twirled ribbons of flame into the night sky, and children chased each other through the glowing, colorful shadows.
Connor and Leon had discreetly slipped away to find food, leaving the four of them at the table under the glowing canopy.
Kinsley sat across from Cruz. He had finally released her wrist so she could sit comfortably, but his hand rested on the table just inches from hers, twitching with the urge to reach for her again.
"You really wouldn't let go," Kinsley murmured, the annoyance fading into something much softer, her chaotic eyes reflecting the golden fairy lights above them.
"I couldn't," Cruz whispered, the words carrying the weight of a religious confession.
His dark eyes were stripped of their usual icy armor, filled only with devastating tenderness.
"I have spent every hour of the last year seeing your face every time I closed my eyes.
I was terrified that if I let go of you, I would wake up back in that office, and you wouldn't be here. "
Kinsley’s breath hitched. She looked at the man who had shattered her bone, the man who had shattered his own empire just to make the world safe for her. "A lot has changed in a year, Cruz."
"I know," he said softly, leaning forward, the raw sincerity in his voice tearing down every wall she had built.
"I told you a year ago that I would do whatever it takes to make it right, Kinsley.
I meant it. I burned my legacy down. I moved everything into trusts.
I insulated it so that no legacy family, no board member, and no amount of old money could ever hurt you again. "
He reached across the table, his fingertips gently brushing against hers.
"I know you aren't looking for reconciliation," Cruz continued, his voice cracking with the sheer magnitude of his love. "But I spent a year making the world safe for you anyway. For you, Kinsley, I would burn the rest of the world down, too, if you asked me to."
Kinsley looked up, her chaotic, expressive eyes shining with sudden tears.
The magnitude of his love, the selfless devotion radiating from him, was overwhelmingly beautiful.
The man she had loved her entire life was laying his soul bare, offering her an empire forged in ashes just to prove she was his universe.
A few feet away, at the other end of the table, Marcy sat quietly, watching the fire dancers.
Kade watched her. He couldn't look away.
"You look beautiful, Marcy," Kade said, his voice a deep, affectionate rumble that seemed to vibrate straight into her bones. "You look completely at peace."
Marcy turned to him, her gentle eyes thoughtful and composed. "I am, Kade. We found a home near here. It’s quiet. We are very happy."
Kade swallowed hard, the bittersweet reality of her independence settling over him. "I remember what you said to me in the park. You told me the boy you loved died in the hospital waiting room."
Marcy nodded slowly, the memory of that painful evening rising to the surface.
"I have spent the last twelve months trying to resurrect the best parts of him," Kade confessed, his voice raw, stripped of all corporate artifice.
He leaned closer, his eyes filled with deep, unwavering affection.
"I stripped away the arrogance. I locked the Lancaster empire in a vault, combining it with Cruz’s, so that it can never be used as a weapon of class or privilege again.
I love you, Marcy. I have never stopped. "
Kade reached across the wrought-iron table, his large hand gently, reverently covering hers. He didn't grab her; he simply offered his warmth, terrified she might pull away.
"I will spend the rest of my life trying to be the man who deserves the girl who used to sneak out to look at the stars with me," Kade whispered, his thumb lightly caressing the back of her hand.
Marcy stared at him. The man sitting before her was not the cold, ruthless CEO who had thrown her out. He was Kade. He was the boy who had promised to protect her, finally stepping out from the toxic shadow of his family’s expectations.
A thoughtfulness washed over her. She saw the exhaustion in his face, the physical toll a year of relentless repentance had taken on his broad shoulders. She felt a deep, undeniable endearment blossoming in her chest.
She looked down at his large hand covering hers. She didn't pull away. Instead, Marcy slowly turned her hand over, lacing her fingers gently through his.
The ice around her heart didn't just thaw; it shattered completely.
Under the canopy of a thousand glowing lights, surrounded by the music and the laughter of the festival, the legacy billionaires and the women who held their souls finally found their way back to each other.