Page 54 of Small Town Secrets

She’d held that thought so closed in her heart all this time, but now that he was here, she couldn’t imagine talking about getting back together without dragging this out into the light too.

“I understand why.” She shrugged again, but this time her movements were weaker, and her voice held a tinny and wounded edge. “You were just doing your job, but there were so many secrets. And then just as you started to make a home in my heart, you were gone.” A tear rolled down her cheek and she dropped her gaze to his chest, because looking in his eyes hurt too damn much. “Just gone. Zero contact until now.”

He said nothing and the silence eventually forced her to look back up at him, his face pale and hollow, like he cursed himself for leaving when and how he had. That he hadn’t fully considered that his exit might have reopened old wounds.

“I didn’t have any choice.” His jaw wavered, as though he second-guessed that explanation. “I needed to keep you and Whitney safe—”

“I know. I know.” Feeling a little ridiculous for making an issue out of this, she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. Ridiculous or not, she needed to say her piece. “I want to keep us safe too. And being safe doesn’t just mean physically. There’s trust, Ramos. Trusting you. Trusting that this is all over and things will finally be okay. There’s trusting myself, because every decision I make is a decision I make for Whitney, too. And I don’t have any trust in any of that right now. None.”

Ramos held her gaze for the longest time, his cheeks straining and releasing as though he fought a silent war within himself, though his spare hand cradled hers in his. “I wished I had the right words...”

He grimaced and took his gaze away from her, shaking his head at the ground as though he berated himself for failing. “I want so much more for us.”

Her heart clenched at that and the muscles in her throat swelled with a need to release the sob she kept buried deep within. “Yeah, me too.”

His brow furrowed and he peered up at her through the downward tilt of his chin. “You know, I’ve spent my entire life avoiding getting too attached.”

The tension across his brow melted into a soul-shattered and wide expression. “And then I go and do something truly moronic like getting attached to the one woman who really shouldn’t have me in her life.” He released a broken laugh—and to her utter shock—this unruffled man, with all his stoicism—had water gathering along the lower edges of his eyes. “I’m sorry for putting you in that position. Not only leaving, but fearing for your safety. You’re right, I wasn’t in the best place to ask for your trust, and then you trusted me anyway, and I’m hoping you’ll come around to trusting me again.”

“Adrian, it’s okay—”

“I’m afraid, Laila.” He paused and swallowed hard in the wake of a small crack in his voice, his firm tone a hint he wanted her comfort less than to have his say, just as she had. “I’m afraid because I don’t love my job, but my job sure loves me. The truth is, I’m good at what I do, and my work saves lives. And while you and Whit showed me pieces of myself I didn’t know existed, I’m scared that the lines of what I do and who I am have become blurred. That you might walk away today thinking that I loved my job any more than I loved you. When nothing could be further from the truth.”

Everything within her paused.

To hear that he loved her.

That she hadn’t been alone the entire time she’d been falling for him.

So rarely had she ever been stunned speechless, but this was one of those moments, and her mouth hung limp and open, while nothing but a raspy croak escaped.

Adrian is not like Mike.

Adrian came back.

New lines formed between his brows, his gaze shifting about her face as though he considered he might have said the very thing he shouldn’t have, when he’d really just uttered the exact words she’d wanted to hear. Not only from him, but in all those years she’d been pushing through, just her and Whitney.

“I get that you have your own reasons for wanting to keep away, but don’t let one of those reasons be that you think you’re asking too much.” He stepped closer, but then stopped as if he second-guessed the move. “You’re not asking too much, Laila.” He dropped to one knee, and she backed up, letting out a gasp. “Not when I’m begging you to ask for everything I have to offer.”

She pressed her hands to her mouth and tears spilled down her cheek. “I’m really confused about what’s happening right now. Is this a proposal?”

His expression sank and he peered about him and then down at himself, like he hadn’t been all that conscious about falling to his knees. “I hadn’t planned on that. I’m not even sure what I was thinking.” He snapped his chin higher and caught her gaze, his brows squishing together. “But I’ll say, ‘Yes’ if you say, ‘Yes’.”

She broke into laughter, and his lips broke into a slow and twisted smile, his steadfast stare holding a pleading sort of edge.

She reached out her hands and claimed his, helping him up. “I’ll cut you a deal. Give it six months, you foot the bill for a ring, and you’re on.”

The muscles of his cheeks eased, and he let go of her hands to cradle her face. “Really?”

She gave a silent nod and her heart soared. He rushed to pull her in for a passionate kiss, his lips pressing into hers hard and desperate, the heat of his embrace pouring into her veins and filling her with undeniable warmth. Warmth that offered love and promises.

She didn’t want the kiss to end. A kiss she’d spent months dreaming of but never expected. And now she had even more than that. She had him. All of him. And a chorus of screams and cheers that came from the front window of her house.

Wait! What?

She disengaged from his lips and turned to find her parents in the front window, the white curtains pushed aside, with Whitney dancing and waving at Laila. Even Chip and Ally were there, grinning at her. Like her parents had known Ramos would be here and called in extra guests to witness this reunion.

Though she settled somewhere between laughing and crying, Ramos pulled her in again. Totally unaffected by the crowd

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