Chapter 30
brYCE
I sit in Miles’s apartment, waiting for him to return home. It’s a little crazy how I had to get in. Cooper had Damon’s key, and he had a key to Miles’s place from when it was Creed’s.
Now that I’m here, in Miles’s space, I’m thinking maybe a call would’ve been better. I don’t have any idea whether he’ll be happy to see me. Maybe he’ll be upset that I’m here alone in his private space.
There’s the sound of a key in the door, and I hold my breath.
“I told you just to go to the airport. I don’t need a bag.” Miles is talking to someone.
“This is your first time meeting her mom. You can’t show up like that. Put on some jeans and a nice button-down. I can’t believe I have to dress you for the parents.”
Damon .
“I don’t think they’d care, and I don’t think Bryce would either.”
I cover my heart with my hand. He was going to go to Idaho for me. Hopefully that’s a good sign.
“You can’t take back a bad first impression. ”
“Who are you, and where is the real Damon?” Miles’s voice draws closer, and I remain frozen, waiting to see him.
“I’m helping you, believe me.”
“Have you seen my charger?” He finally appears in the family room and stops, blinking when he spots me. “Bryce?”
“And that’s my cue.” Damon winks at me and runs the other way. The door shuts a second later.
“Hey,” I say. What I really want to do is run to him, jump in his arms, and beg him to take me back.
“I thought you were in Idaho?” He doesn’t move closer, and I don’t stand.
“I got back, like, an hour ago.”
“Oh.”
“I want to apologize,” I say, wishing I would’ve rehearsed this on the plane. “It was wrong of me to accuse you. I know you wouldn’t do that.”
“Never,” he says emphatically. “I would never.” He shakes his head as if his words aren’t enough.
“I just…” I sigh. This is harder to get out than I thought.
He rounds the sofa. “I understand. Your dad and the picture was incriminating. I was already mad that day because they were switching my position and I felt like a fucking failure. Not only in my career but with us. That I failed you if you thought I could ever do that. And I just didn’t want to accept that. ” He sits on the chair across from me.
“You didn’t fail me.” Tears well in my eyes. “You were right, I was never all in. I think only part of my heart was open, but I can’t stop crying now, so…” Tears spill down my face.
I fall to my knees and crawl over to him, then slide my hands up his legs. When he opens them, I crawl inside the space between his thighs.
“But I am now. I’m ready. A hundred and ten percent open to see where this goes. ”
“Your job,” he says.
“I don’t care. I quit. I can find another one. But there’s only one you.”
He bends and takes my face in his hands. “I got your job back. It’s all yours.”
“How? Why?” I shake my head. “I don’t want it. If it means that I can’t be with you, I don’t want it. I just want you.”
“You have me,” he says. “I’m still all yours. You can’t report on me, but that’s okay.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can report on the Grizzlies, just not this one. But it’s your dream job. Take it back, Bryce. Please.”
I place my hands over his on my cheeks. “No. I don’t want it. That day they suspended me, I realized I wanted you way more than any job. You’re my dream. Just you.”
“You can have both now.”
I smile. This man is too sweet. “They never liked the way I reported anyway. And I kind of like writing articles about you. Maybe I’ll become your permanent PR person.” He gives me a skeptical look, and I laugh. “I promise I’d be nice. So… do you forgive me?”
He nods. “I’ll always forgive you. Well, within reason, but always.”
“I was so stupid.”
His thumbs wipe the tears from my eyes. “Stop it. It’s over. Let’s forget it and move forward.” He stares into my eyes.
“Where do we go from here?” I practically whisper.
“How about I kiss you?”
“Please.” I smile and nod.
He bends down and kisses my lips. He’s gentle and sweet, and when he draws back, his eyes study me for a moment. “So, this was our first fight.”
“It wasn’t our first,” I say, and he chuckles .
“Well, was it surprisingly horrible for you?”
“Very. But I’m really hoping the make-up sex is surprisingly hot.”
He slides off the chair, and I inch backward, losing my balance and falling to my back.
“Oh, I’m gonna surprise you.” He falls on me, and I wind my arms around his neck.
“I love you,” I say.
His lips thin, and he stares at me as if he’s mad.
“What?”
“I was going to say it first.” He frowns.
I giggle. “I know, and I wanted to be first.”
Miles rolls his eyes. “Of course, I should’ve known.”
“But you can say it now?”
He shakes his head.
“Come on. Say it.”
“Nope.” He grins.
“Miles.” My hands rest on his cheeks now. “Say it.”
“You can’t make me,” he says, and I wiggle to get out from under him. “Where are you going?”
“If you’re not gonna?—”
He catches me and lies back on top of me. He looks into my eyes, and I take in his beautiful blues. He doesn’t have to say a word, it’s all there, but that doesn’t stop him. “I love you, Bryce Burns.”
“I know.”
He shakes his head again and I pull it down to mine, sealing it with a kiss.