Page 119 of Bad Luck Club

He turned toward her then, his cheeks wet with tears, his expression unashamed. “Then you must already know that I love you.”

And the final bits of resistance still within her, those confused, roiling emotions, which had come from being rejected by the man she’d let herself love fell away. All that was left was the pure joy of knowing she was loved by someone who loved her—by someone who made her want to grow and thrive, just like she made him feel. And the wonder of that washed over her as she leaned in and kissed him, their lips both wet from their commingled tears.

He broke away, his eyes full of love and longing. “I love you, Blue. I love the person you are. And your art. And your enormous rabbit. And your weird friends.” He gestured to the windows, and even through the double-paned window she could hear their cheering. “And most of all your heart. You will never cease to be an inspiration to me. And I am the luckiest man alive if you will agree to let me be by your side.” He paused. “Maybe we promise each other to do this whenever we argue. Sit back-to-back and be honest with each other, like we were in the beginning.”

“I’d like that,” she said, feeling a wave of warmth rush through her, banishing the cold.

He paused, then added, “I’ll do whatever it takes to prove myself to you. I even saw two Ring Pops in that suckling pig cake in there.” His voice took on a hint of teasing. “I’ve heard you like those.”

She gave a full-body shudder. “No, thanks. Too many memories.” But because she heard the glimmer of something serious behind his statement, she said, “But I love you too.” Two more tears tracked down his cheeks, and she traced them with her finger, cupping his face. “I think I have for a while now. I saw something beautiful in you, Lee, right from the beginning. Your spirit couldn’t be restrained anymore. Even if you hadn’t found out about your father, you would have eventually left him. You would have found your way.”

His shoulders settled, making her realize how rigid they’d been. “I’m not sure I believe that, but thank you for saying it. Thank you for seeing me the way I’d like to see myself.”

“I meant what I said the other day. You’re a good man. You just need to realize it.”

He nodded, serious. “I’ve decided to see a therapist.” He smirked, angling his head toward the house. “As much as I like your friends, I think that might work out better for me.”

She smiled back, her smile growing as she took in his cape. It looked ridiculous, like he was an overgrown kid playing trick-or-treat, but somehow that only made it more endearing. And he’d done it for her. After the humiliation of yesterday, he’d still found it in himself to do something he must have found excruciating.

“I can see that,” she said. “I went to see one for a while, but it didn’t work for me.” She nodded toward the windows again, where Harry was giving her an adamant thumbs-up. “They did.”

“And I love them for it,” he said.

She could tell he really meant it. That the club he’d wanted to walk out on from minute one had become important to him—even if it was only because it was important to her.

Her hand still cupped around his jaw, she pulled his face to hers and kissed him the way she needed to—a claiming kiss to let him, and everyone who was inevitably watching them, know how much this man meant to her. He kissed her back, weaving a hand into her hair, hungry for her in a way that made her want to lead him out to his car, wherever he’d parked it, and repeat their first kiss, here in the driveway of the Cluster. How appropriate that this was the place where they’d professed their love for each other. How appropriate that they’d found themselves here, together.

Finally, he pulled back, panting, his expression like that of a child on Christmas morning.

She expected him to suggest they make a hasty retreat so they could be alone together, but instead he grinned at her and said, “What do you say we fix these cushions and go inside for the luau? I heard there’d be a Hula-Hoop contest.”

She laughed aloud, surprised—delightedly so—by the suggestion. “No one told you that. Butof coursethere’s going to be one. Just so you know what you’re getting into, Bear won the Hula-Hoop contest three years running at the Y.”

“I can deal with a little competition,” he said, rising, then reaching out a hand to lift her up. “Just so long as you’ll cheer for me.”

“Exuberantly,” she said. “But I’ll have to cheer for him too. Fair is fair. Consider this your first challenge for our Good Luck Club.” She lifted onto her toes to give him a little kiss.

“Yours is to use a code word when you’re ready for me to take you home and undress you and spend the whole night showing you how much I love you.”

She trembled to use it now, but this was her party, her graduation, and she wanted them to be here together—a need he had clearly anticipated.

“Challenge accepted,” she said, kissing his cheek now, still damp from tears. “And the code word?”

“Octopus.”

Smiling, she took his hand, and they opened the door together, to the raucous cheers of everyone in the room. Cal stood back from the rest, but he nodded to her once, solemnly, his mouth tipped up slightly at the corners.

Bear bustled forward and pulled her into a hug, then pulled Lee in with her, clearly surprising him.

“I think I’ve been in more group hugs in the last twenty-four hours than in the rest of my life combined.”

“It’s not over yet, boyo,” Bear bellowed, waving the others over. And suddenly the whole group was in a mass hug. It was overly warm and chaotic and messy, and absolutely beautiful.

She’d gone from lonely and alone to overbrimming with love. It would have only felt more complete if Dottie and the rest of the Buchanans were here.

“We love you, Blueberry,” Bear said. “And you’ll always be family. But we couldn’t be happier for you.” As the group hug broke up, he pulled Lee’s head down and gave him an affectionate noogie, something that likely only Bear could get away with. “You’re not so bad either, oh failed member of the Bad Luck Club. I can tellyouwouldn’t leave our girl alone on a Thursday night.”

Lee clearly had no idea what he was talking about, but he nodded gamely.

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