Page 109 of What I Should Have Known

She plopped herself down on the barstool next to me and cocked her brow. “You owe me a lot of groveling. Plus, I want to hear you say it out loud, not just read it in the letter you left your mom.”

“Hear what?” I leaned an elbow against the bar as she pulled her heels up. “Also, speaking of my mom, is she… okay?”

“She’ll be fine once you’re back home. Probably pissed for a while, and when I talked to her after I landed at the airport, Raiden is pissed you missed chaperoning prom for him. He still got to go, but I think he was really excited to have you around.”

“Shit.” I sighed and leaned my head back. “I kind of forgot about that.”

Something grated across the wooden counter of the bar, and I glanced down at the phone Kat slid to me. My phone. “You’ve got a few missed calls and texts,” she said.

“Yeah, I probably do, huh?” Grabbing it from her, I didn’t bother checking it yet as I glanced back at her. “Now, what did you want me to say to your face? I’ll do whatever groveling, say whatever it is you want and need. I’m a fucking idiot. An asshole. I shouldn’t have ever left. I’m—”

“Tell me you love me,” she inserted.

“I love you.” I placed a hand over hers as they rested on her knees. “I love you, Kat.”

“Promise me you’ll never pull something like this again.”

“I promise I’ll never pull shit like this again. I promise I’ll do everything to make sure you’re always taken care of and happy.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Promise me you’ll consult me with any choice that involves me or affects me in any way.”

“I promise I’ll never take your choice away again.” I stuffed my phone in my pocket and pressed my palm against her cheek. Threading my fingers through her hair, I tugged her closer to me.

“Date me in the open. No more secrets. And please don’t give up on me even if it takes my dad a while to come around to the idea of you,” she demanded.

“Kit Kat, haven’t you figured it out yet?” I leaned forward, a breath away from her lips.

“Figured out what?” Her gaze darted briefly to my mouth.

“I’m not afraid of a little fight, no matter how long it takes.”

She rolled her eyes. “You ran away from the fight for me at the hospital.”

I tipped away from her. “Fair. I did run. But not from the fight. Not for that reason.”

Mischief sparkled in her gaze as she winked. “I know.”

“Oh, I see how it’s going to be.” I pursed my lips as she giggled.

“I love you too, Bernie. All of your dumbass, idiocy, impulsive self.” She smiled, and I slammed my lips against hers.

Oh, how good it felt to kiss her again with nothing hanging over my head. She was right. With everything she said concerning Duncan and how I was handling things, she was right.

Though, I wouldn’t say a damn thing about the fact I knew she was right.

Moving my lips with hers, I pressed deeper into the kiss as she slid a hand to my waist. We had a road ahead of us before things would truly be settled, I knew that.

But that ghost of blame that had hung around me since Duncan’s death was nowhere to be seen. If it wasn’t for her gentle spirit and ability to forgive, things would look so different now.

Pulling away briefly, I hovered near her lips. “How’d you find me, by the way?” I asked.

She patted my waist. “It wasn’t that difficult. Besides, if you really wanted to disappear, I knew you’d be able to. But I also knew you weren’t truly wanting to. No matter how much you blamed yourself, I knew you loved me more than that.”

“I don’t deserve you,” I whispered and pecked her lips.

“No, you don’t.” She kissed me in return.

And then it hit me. Breaking the embrace, I tipped my head. “Where’s Ford? Or Emma? Did you really come alone?”

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