Page 62 of Return to You

“I think it was because I bought another bike.”

“That’s right.” She remembered how scared she’d been when they’d found his bike down by the riverbank. “Those things are dangerous,” she told him for probably the hundredth time, even though she knew it was like talking to a brick wall.

“This is it,” he turned up the volume when the camera panned around and Patrick was on the screen.

“You two are either going to marry each other or kill each other,” Her brother said and smiled widely and she felt her own lips turn up. “My guess is marry. So just in case, I’m saving this to play at your wedding and have on record that, of course, I knew you two were gonna end up together.

“Ali, I’ve always said that I feel sorry for whoever ends up with you, and this is why.” He panned the camera back to where Ali was still giving Kade a piece of her mind then he appeared on screen again. “And Kade I’ve told you the same thing, but for different reasons. But if you guys do end up together, I take it all back. You deserve each other, and I’m not being a smart ass.

“You are the two best people I know. You both love with your whole hearts, you’re both fiercely loyal, and you’re both fighters.” Patrick turned so that Ali and Kade were visible behind him over his shoulder. “Kade you might be the professional, but I think we can all agree that Ali could take you down any day of the week. But seriously, I know whatever life throws at you, you guys will handle it. Together. And hey, you’ve been arguing like an old married couple for years, so you have a lot of practice already. Love you guys.”

The video went blank and Ali was speechless. She’d had no idea her brother felt like that. He’d never even hinted that he’d known how Ali felt about Kade or that he thought the two of them would get married one day. The thought sent a thrill racing through her.

Kade shifted so he was facing her again. “I love you, Ali. I’m in love with you. I’ve always thought I wasn’t good enough for you and that Patri—”

“What are you talking about?! You’re amazi—”

Kade lifted his hand. “I love that you interrupt me even when it’s to tell me when I’m wrong, and your voice is my favorite sound in the entire world, but right now I need you to shut up and let me talk.”

Ali rolled her lips inward, tucking them between her teeth.

“Okay?” he asked.

She nodded, scared to even breathe because she wanted so badly to hear what he had to tell her.

“I love you, Ali. And I want to be with you. I used to think that was impossible. But I think Patrick was right, I think that we deserve each other. I know that you said that nothing could happen between us, but it’s my turn to call you out. You’re wrong. Something is happening between us. It has been for a long time. And if you want to deny it, or ignore it, that’s fine. I’ll move out and we can raise the boys together and be friends. But just so you know, even if we’re not together, I’m still going to be completely, madly in love with you. Nothing will ever change that.

“Every time I see you I’ll be thinking about how soft your lips are, how sweet your tongue tastes, how right you feel when you’re in my arms. I’ll never stop wanting you. I’ll never stop loving you. I’ll never stop being yours. It’s always been you, Ali. Even before I knew it, it was you.”

Kade was saying all the things she’d always dreamed of him saying and she was dying to tell him that she felt the same way, but she was trying to keep her promise and let him talk. When he finally paused, she couldn’t stay silent another moment. “Can I please talk now?”

He smiled as a soft, sexy laugh fell from his lips. “Yes.”

“I love you, too. I always have. And I want to be with you. I don’t know how it’s all going to work out logistically, but I know that it’s you. It’s always been y—”

Before she could finish, he crushed his mouth to hers as he hauled her onto his lap. She straddled him, her thighs settling outside his. There was so much more she wanted to tell him, but it would keep. Right now she was happy to show him how she felt.

25

Kade kissed Ali like he was drowning and she was air. He breathed her in with everything he had. He devoured her as his hands roamed up and down her body with a primal desperation. He wanted to touch every single inch of her all at once. Erotic tension was building inside of him with an intensity that was driving him to the brink.

“I love you.” He broke their kiss just long enough to say the words he’d been waiting to tell her for so long. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

Ali repeated those words back to him as she did her own roaming. Her fingers threaded through his hair and traveled down the back of his neck, across his shoulders, and over his chest. She fisted the material of his shirt and started tugging it up.

“What about the boys?” he asked.

“What about them?” she asked breathlessly as her brow wrinkled.

“What if they wake up and come down here?”

She smiled, pulling at his shirt again. “I locked the door.”

“You did?”

“Habit. KJ worries, so I come down here if I’m feeling emotional.”

His heart squeezed in his chest thinking of her having to hide and disguise her grief to protect her nephew. “Like the onion.”

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