Page 307 of By His Rule

“I—I love you, Lorelei.”

My breath catches as his confession echoes around me.

Time continues ticking, but I swear right there, my entire world grinds to a halt just for a second.

I’ve known for a while just how strongly I feel for him. I’ve wanted to tell him. Hell, there have been times in the past couple of weeks that I could have blurted it out. But I held it back. I’ve no idea why; maybe I was waiting for this moment. Who knows.

“I love you, too,” I reply brokenly. “I love you so much.”

Wrapping his hand around the back of my neck, he pulls me in for a sweet kiss. One that steals my breath and the last remaining piece of my heart.

“Ew, guys. Seriously?” Wilder complains when he notices us. “You’re going to miss the start.”

We part with a laugh and one more heated look before we turn toward the windows to watch Kieran obliterate the opposition.

He scores more touchdowns than I’ve seen him achieve before. He’s on fire. And every time he scores, he looks up to one spot in the crowd.

“Has he got some kind of lucky charm up there or something?” Wilder comments, having noticed the same thing.

“Something like that,” Kian says cryptically.

“Who is it? Has he got a girlfriend?” Now I’m intrigued.

I don’t know all that much about Kieran, but I do know that him having a girl would be huge fucking news, and I’ve heard nothing.

“Nah. How’s Noelle, Rix?” Kian asks, changing the subject. “Shame she couldn’t come too.”

“Yeah, Rix. How’s Noelle?” Wilder sings, earning himself a slug in the shoulder.

“Is this for fucking real?” Wilder asks in amazement, trailing behind Kian and me as we slide past security, heading toward the family area of the arena. “I’m really going to get to meet some of the team?”

“Yep,” Kian agrees. “I’ve got someone else for you to meet before the players emerge, though.”

“Really? Who?” Wilder asks, intrigued, as I glance at Kian.

“Yeah, who?”

“Just wait,” Kian laughs.

“Not my forte,” I mutter.

“Don’t I fucking know it.”

Only seconds later, he’s holding the door for us and then guiding us through the room toward a man I’ve never seen before.

“Ah, Kian,” he says the second he spots my boyfriend.

“Richie, good to see you. This is Wilder. Wilder, this is Richie Carson. He’s a scout for Trinity Royal College. He’s heading out your way in a couple of weeks.”

I swear to God, I’ve never seen Wilder’s chin drop so low before. I’ve also never, ever seen him lost for words. But in the seconds that follow his introduction, it’s like they suddenly cease to exist.

“Wild,” Hendrix hisses, shoving his brother in the back and forcing him to step up to Richie.

“H-Hi,” Wilder stutters, nervously holding his hand out to the older man. “It’s good to meet you.”

“You too. I’ve heard a lot about you, Son.”

The warmth of Kian’s hand wraps around mine before he pulls me away.

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