Page 87 of When You Saved Me

He still held onto my forearm though, to steady me. “Yes, thank you.” I looked into his face and wanted so badly to run my lips along his jaw and my fingers through his hair. I just wantedhim.

We walked slowly to the front porch and that’s when I noticed something was different. “Oh my gosh!” I gasped. “Deacon, you finished the bench!”

To the right of the door was the wooden bench I’d fallen in love with, but the vine and orchid detailing along the back was complete and the entire piece had been stained. It was the most beautiful piece of woodwork I’d ever seen.

As I moved closer toward it to take in all the fine details, Deacon said, “I know how much you liked it. I wanted you to have something nice to come home to.”

Come home to.

My stomach tightened as I turned around to face him.Home. I wondered if he understood the impact his words were having on me. The weight they carried in my heart.

“You did this for me?” I swallowed the knot in my throat. He stepped so close, I had to tilt my head back to look up at him.

My eyes fluttered closed when his knuckles ran down my cheek and his thumb brushed along the edge of my jaw. I could live a thousand lifetimes, and it would mean nothing if I never got to feel his touch again.

When I opened my eyes, I saw something shift in hisgaze. Recognition, perhaps, of exactly what his touch did to me.

“Seeing you in that hospital bed wrecked me, Sunshine. I… I almost lost it. Finishing the bench was for you, yes, but I think I needed something to put my energy into. I thought that if I had something waiting for you… I don’t know. It sounds stupid now, but I thought it might help bring you back to me.”

Rising to my tip toes, I kissed his cheek. “I think it worked, Grumps.”

He huffed a breath before sliding his arms around my waist, pulling me close. “Can we get a new nickname for me?”

“Mmm,” I hummed, then shook my head. “No.”

He scoffed. “No? When we start going out and seeing people in town, I don’t want them to think I’m some asshole.”

Stepping out of his embrace, my hand slid down his arm until I reached his hand. Our fingers intertwined and I led him to the front door. “No one will think you’re an asshole just because I call you Grumps. You’ve been in Pebble Brook Falls for a long time, Deacon. I’m pretty sure everyone already knows the kind of man you are.”

He tugged on my hand, whirling me around in a circle until I landed against his chest. There was nothing but pure affection in his eyes as he gripped my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “And what kind of man am I?”

“Fishing for compliments?”

“Only from the woman I love.”

I stopped moving. My heartbeat soared to an unimaginable rate as my gaze danced back and forth between those pine green eyes that were now sparkling with joy.

“You love me?”

“I know that we still have a lot to figure out together, Charlie, but…” He exhaled a long breath, and I knew his thoughts had strayed to the accident. A shiver ran down my spine as a fiery image watered my vision. “I didn’t want to wait another second without you knowing how I feel about you.”

His face came into full view, and I was wrecked. Completely and totally destroyed by the beauty of him. Yes, he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen with his strong jaw, inky black hair and irises so green they reminded me of the warmth of summer in the dead of winter.

But there was more. Lingering beneath the surface. Deacon had spent his entire adult life sacrificing himself—his own safety—for others. He’d saved my life, on more than one occasion now. While there was darkness in his past, I knew he was trying. He was trying forme.

Rising onto my tip toes, I ran my hands over the top of his head until my forearms draped over his shoulders. Then, I looked into those unworldly eyes and said, “I love you too.”

His entire body shuddered against mine, like he was shedding his demons right before my eyes. And when he brought his lips to mine there was no more reservation. No more uncertainty simmering beneath the surface. He was mine. Completely mine.

The kiss was gentle—achingly tender. Like we had all the time in the world to explore one another.

“Say it again.” His words were a whisper over my mouth.

I smiled. “I love you.”

The moan that escaped him as he brought me closer had my toes curling in my boots.

“I love you,” I said again before claiming his lips with mine.

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