Page 55 of Guarded from Corruption

“I do.” I catch his hand, squeezing it tightly. “I do feel the same way.”

Cautious hope brightens his eyes. “You do?”

“I think I started falling for you the first day we met. You were so handsome. But not just that; you cared about what I said. You were interested. And then when you gave us both those whistles?—”

Niall’s mouth twitches. “Two young women in college—you can never be too careful.”

“I know. And I loved that you were so thoughtful.” Pausing, my face heats before I add, “I always made sure I was around when you were visiting. I never told Shea, but… I just wanted to see you. Even if it was just as a friend…”

“Hun.” Niall turns me in his lap so I’m facing him, and I wrap my legs around his waist. “I always hoped you’d be there. Each time I’d see your gorgeous face, I was so damn happy. And I never stopped thinking about you.”

“Niall.” It’s hard to get his name out past the lump in my throat. “I’ve never stopped thinking about you, either.”

I was in such a good mood after this morning’s revelations, I wanted to do something fun.

Something normal. Something a happy couple would do.

Because I am happy.

Yes, there are things I still have to deal with. But.

I have Niall. And he’s falling for me. He loves everything about me.

Is it the same as being in love? I’m not sure.

In my heart, I know I’m in love with Niall. But I can wait for that part.

For now, I have an incredible boyfriend who will do anything for me. How could I not be happy?

How could I not want to celebrate something so wonderful?

So we’re having our game night. Finally.

When I brought it up over breakfast, Niall was hesitant. “It’s still so soon,” he said gently, “I don’t want you pushing…”

“It’s not,” I insisted as I leaned across the table to give him a quick kiss. “And I’m not. Your team is all here, we already talked about it, and I’d really like to do something fun with you and your friends. We have the games already, we can buy lots of snacks and beg Dante to cook something yummy, and?—”

“Okay.” He grinned at me. “If that’s what you want, we’ll do it.”

And unlike the party out in the barn, I’m not nervous about this in the least.

First, because I’ve gotten to know Niall’s team better since then.

I’ve learned that despite his intimidating looks, Dante is a big softie and would love to adopt a dog once things with B and A are running smoothly. I’ve learned that Xavier is incredibly smart and loyal, and he’ll do anything for the people he cares about.

I’ve discovered how kind Rhiannon is, and how easy she is to talk to. She’s never been pushy about it, but every day or two, she’ll stop by just to say hi, and I’ve found myself opening up to her.

I’ve seen the silly pranks Matt plays on his friends, like when he filled Dante’s office with hundreds of helium balloons. Even funnier was Dante sucking in the helium and vowing to pay Matt back in a squeaky little cartoon voice.

And I’ve gotten to know Erik, who’s not just the big, goofy guy he wants people to see. When I was having a particularly hard day a couple of weeks ago, dealing with flashbacks from my time in captivity, Erik brought over a book about PTSD and told me it had helped him, so maybe it could help me, too.

Also, we’re going to be in Niall’s apartment, which already feels more like home than the apartment I lived in for years. I like how cozy his place is; all rustic woods and muted blues and greens and framed photographs of landscapes on the walls and the pretty stained glass hangings he has in the windows.

He told me the photos were taken by Hanna, who’s married to Finn—one of the original Blade and Arrow guys out in New York. And the stained glass came from Georgia, another of the East Coast B and A wives, who he helped rescue a couple of years ago after she’d been abducted by a stalker.

It’s pretty incredible, hearing about all the things the original Blade and Arrow team has done—rescuing people from multiple stalkers, organ traffickers, blackmail, extortion—and I’m so pleased for Niall to be a part of it.

Another reason I’m excited about game night? So Niall can spend some quality time with his team. Not just time spent training or in meetings, but actually relaxing and having fun.

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