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So, just like I did when I first showed up on his doorstep. I'm not going to let him push me away. I'm going to stay and show him that I see him, and I want him. I'm going to show him what it's really like to be cared for. And if he wants out, then he's going to have to say it. Because I'll be damned if I'm the one that gives up on us.
"Kane, you deserve to have someone care about you," she says firmly. "You deserve to be loved. Do you hear me? Isabella isn't settling for you. She's been choosing you. Every day. Because you're worthy of being chosen."
Because I really, really, more than anything, want to be deserving of Isabella. And I want to try for the rest of my life to give her everything else she deserves.
"I'm not going anywhere," she says softly. Then she presses a sweet kiss to the corner of my mouth. "You don't scare me," she adds in a whisper. A breath rushes out of me. With just those words, the fear, the panic, that's filled me all morning, leaves my body. She wants to stay. She wants to stay with me.
This isn’t your 1 last shot to get it right, this is us trying, every day. And some days will be good, and some will be bad, but every day, we keep fighting. Together. Because I would rather live in your world, with your arms around me and your heart against my palm, than anywhere else. I want you, Kane. Never doubt that."
"Okay," I whisper. "Then I'm yours, Isabella."
From outside of the cage, I hear Aiden's shell-shocked voice. "Did I just step into Bizarro world?" My brow furrows as I turn a glare on him. I open my mouth to invite him in for a round, but in the end… I just launch into a burpee. And then four more. Coach laughs so hard he almost falls over. And just like that, I become part of a family.
never be able to truly show this woman how she helped me—how she accepted me for who I am and opened my eyes to my worth. I can only try.
the sight of her happy is like a balm to my soul.
Tristan pulls his girlfriend into his lap. “I don’t think he even knows the meaning of the word.” Then he wordlessly rocks backward and throws his leg over her face at the same time that he captures her arm. "Tristan!" she shrieks in surprise. "God, I love when you scream my name," he groans. Then tightens the submission.
"Who knew not-so-angry man was so into PDA," Aiden comments from outside of our bubble. I throw him a glare. "What did I say about that nickname?" He grins shamelessly. "But I like it." "Let's see if you like it after a three count in the cage," I growl.
"Are you… are you posing?" Aiden very obviously flexes his abs in his girlfriend's direction. "If she's shooting, I'm posing."
“Just wait until I trick you into my bed, princess,” I murmur in her ear, loving that I can feel her heartrate pick up against my chest. And yet, her voice is steady when she replies. “Kane, I’ve been infatuated with you since the first moment I saw you. You don’t have to trick me anywhere.”
“I figured we could do some exploring around the country, just you, me and Oscar. Take our time, go wherever you want to go. Get a real vacation in.”
“So polite, princess,” he murmurs. When I eventually pull away, it’s still there on his face. These soft smiles are my favorite because they’re when he’s the most peaceful. When he’s happiest.
He slides his hand into my hair and, for a moment, he just looks at me. “I love you.” The words roll easily off his tongue, and there isn’t a single piece of him that looks nervous or unsure. In fact, he looks the opposite. He looks like saying those words relieved something in him.
I, on the other hand, swallow nervously. “You do?” I whisper. His thumb brushes along my jawline where his hand is still sunk into the hair at the nape of my neck. It almost feels like he’s soothing me. “Of course, I do,” he says evenly. Simply, again.
“I love you, too. So much.” And if I thought Kane’s first smile was one I’d never forget, it’s nothing compared to the one I get right now.
