Page 119 of Rich and Bossy

“I can’t. Not right now.” I wipe at one of my eyes, and I know I just walked away from the whole world in there.

“I know I hurt you. I know I said and did some questionably unspeakable things, but this was new to me. I don’t know what these feelings are, and I didn’t know how to navigate them, butI want to know. I want to learn how. I think you do too. I will never let anything come between us again—nothing.” He offers a faint smile. “But Hazel, please, I need you to forgive me. Even if you don’t want to see me again. I can’t live with myself another fucking minute if you don’t. Don’t make me go through this life thinking you hate me. It would destroy me.”

“Paxton, I can’t.” The tears are flowing now. “You hurt me so damn bad. I’ve never felt anything like it. It was worse than what happened at the warehouse, I could’ve handled that. I couldn’t handle the way you treated me and blew up on me. Right where you’re standing. Why should I believe this is real andthatwasn’t?”

He takes a step forward, then stops himself. “Did you believe it when I said I love you? Everyone else saw that, but it doesn’t matter what the fuck they think. It only matters what you think. Did you believe me?”

Yes, and something tells me Paxton will be on Leslie’s Christmas card list for the rest of her life. He just handed her a huge, dramatic story. But none of that matters as much as the way he’s looking at me right now. And the way I want so badly to throw myself into his arms and never come up for air.

When I don’t respond, he takes another step. “It was true. Everything else I told you was true too.” He stands there, staring into my eyes. “About the board. About not having any control over what happened. I’m sorry I didn’t handle it better. I handled it as worse as one can handle something, but they literally told me I was gone if I didn’t comply. John too. I should’ve done this the second they did it, but I didn’t know how to let go. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t know how…”

“You don’t have to. I took it out on you, and I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong, Hazel.” In his second stunning move of the night, Paxton drops to his knees. “Please. Whatever it takes,I’ll do it. Whatever you want, it’s yours. I just want you. I don’t care about anything else. That’s all that matters, you and what you want. I just need another chance. I’ll never hesitate again. Please, tell me I still have a chance with you. Tell me you’ll let me love you.” His eyes start to water, the way mine are.

Holy hell. He’s literally on my porch, begging me to take him back. I really didn’t see this coming.

“Okay.” It’s barely a whisper, hardly enough to send a cloud of vapor rising from my lips. “Okay. I love you, too.”

He flies up and winces as he does it, wrapping me in a giant hug. “Cold concrete’s not so good on this knee.”

“Well, you still knocked the breath out of me, so well done, sir.” I can barely get the words out because him slamming into me coupled with the cold has literally stolen the breath from my lungs. God, it feels so good to be in his arms though.

“You’re worth the pain,” he whispers, touching his forehead to mine and sighing like a man at the end of a long journey. “Every fucking ounce of it.”

“I can’t promise I’ll never call you an idiot again.”

He leans back and smiles. “That’s what I love most about you.” With that, he lowers his head, and nothing in the world could top the feel of his lips against mine. The sense of everything being right, finally. The way it was meant to be. My hand slides over the back of his neck, holding tight. Making sure I don’t lose him again.

Somebody clears their throat behind us. Loudly. “Um, half the country wants to know how this turned out.” I reluctantly break the kiss and look over my shoulder to find Campbell watching from the front door.

Our eyes meet, and she smiles. “They can wait.” With that, she shuts the door so I can pull Paxton closer and kiss him again.

Why do I love this big idiot so much?

Epilogue

HAZEL

“Finally. What took you so long?”

Paxton takes beers from the carrier John is holding when he joins us in our seats. It’s not the corporate box this time around, but we’re only five rows back from the fifty-yard line. “I thought we were going to have to send a search party for you.”

John grumbles, giving Paxton a hard stare. “Strangely enough, the stadium is sold out, and yet nobody decided to get in line for beers. It was the weirdest thing.” He looks right at me. “How do you stand himallthe time?”

“It’s very difficult,allthe time.”

It’s clear from Paxton’s grin he knows I’m kidding. I wouldn’t have things any other way, and I would hope that after what’s been the happiest year of my life, he would know it.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year. Time has flown by, and there have been so many milestones in that year. My graduation back in May. The start of my master’s program. It’s challenging work, but I love it.

And it’s not the only challenging work I’ve got going on right now, either.

“I don’t know how you do it; have to go home with him after work.” John looks like he’s imagining the worst life possible. “Bad enough when I had to see him every day in the office.”

“As if you went to the office every day.” Paxton smirks.

“Yeah, because you were there.”

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