Page 25 of Bargain Match

He nods. “I told her everything. How I felt about you. How you avoided romance. How you wanted to rig the contest. That’s when she came up with the idea.”

“What idea?”

“That she’d fix us up and I could use the trip as a chance to finally show you how I really feel about you. That I could finally make my move.”

“That—”

“I know. It sounds crazy.” He moves forward again until he’s close enough to wrap his arms around me. Which is exactly whathe does. “You’ve been driving me crazy for years now. But I hope… I hope I haven’t ruined everything.”

My heart hitches at the pain in his voice. “You haven’t ruined everything.”

The relief on his face… It’s nothing short of spectacular.

Overwhelmed by the rush of emotions washing over me, I shift from one foot to the other. “So… what happens now?”

“That depends.” He arches an eyebrow. “Are you still mad at me?”

“Am I mad because you fell in love with me and decided to win me over on an all-expenses paid trip to Scotland?” I give a shaky laugh. “No. I’m not mad. I just… I just…”

“If you need more time, I understand. I’m the one who flipped the script. I’m the one who wants to leave the friend zone.”

“I think we left the friend zone quite a while ago.”

“True.” His eyes spark before dropping to my lips. I want him to kiss me. I want to kiss him.

Once we start kissing, I don’t want to stop.

Oh my God.

I suck in a breath as the magnitude of my latest revelation settles.

Burke studies me in concern. “What? What happened?”

“I just realized…”

“Realized what?”

“I think…”

“You think?”

“I think I’m in love with you too.”

His eyes light up and, without dropping a beat, he pulls me close. His lips crash to mine.

Immediately the tension inside of me disappears, and I sink into him and the kiss and the myriad emotions circling aroundus. Burke has always been my constant. The one person who gets me. The one person I trust.

I should have known his intentions were only ever for good. Just like I should have known we were in love.

As he sucks on my bottom lip and sends a jolt of desire to the apex of my thighs, I have to wonder. How did I not realize I was in love with him sooner?

Around us, the people in the bar start cheering, startling us from our romantic haze.

I laugh, and Burke’s cheeks turn an adorable shade of red. God, it’s cute that this tough guy blushes.

“Come on.” He takes me by the hand and pulls me out of the bar to a secluded nook near the stairwell. “There.” He pulls me back into his arms. “That’s better.”

He lowers his head toward mine, but I press my hands against his chest to stop him. “Wait. I need to say something.”

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