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He chuckles. “I don’t think ole Kyle will be coming around here anytime soon. Come on, Nancy Drew, let’s go inside.”

He secures his arm around me and leads me inside. “I could do it, you know? Be undercover.”

“I’m sure you could.” He kisses my head.

Remembering that I’m supposed to meet his family, I ask, “When are your mom and sister coming?”

“They’re not. I canceled on them after the whole Kyle thing. I didn’t know how this day would end, so I figured it best to take a rain check.”

“Yeah, well, they definitely wouldn’t have seen me in my best light if they were here for that,” I admit.

“Or me in mine with the way I confronted you.” His mouth drops into a frown. “I’m truly so sorry. I handled that all wrong.”

I shrug. “Well, I’m sure you’ve heard all the stories about me. I’m known for letting people down. You chose the better odds.”

He takes my hand and pulls me toward the sofa. We sit, and I pull my legs up onto the cushion and lean into his warm body. He traces light circles over my back. “That’s not a good enough reason for what I did. If we’re going to make this work, we need to be able to solve a conflict without it turning into…that.”

“Agreed.” I let out a sad chuckle. “We’re not very good at relationships, are we?”

“Maybe not, but we will be. This is new for both of us. It will take time.”

“Yeah.” I nod.

The back of his hand brushes across my cheek before he places a finger below my chin and tilts my face up. He cradles my jaw and draws his lips to mine, kissing me soft and sweet. Taking his time, he apologizes with his mouth, making sure I feel loved and cherished. The kiss remains slow and unrushed. An apology. A prayer. A declaration.

The kiss sheds light on the dark corners of my mind, quieting my doubts and healing my broken heart from moments ago.

With my skin humming, he leaves me breathless as he pulls his lips from mine. He takes my hand, running his thumb across my skin. “I promise to talk to you when I have doubts before jumping to any conclusions. I promise to always treat you with respect,” he vows.

“Thank you.” I press my finger to his lips, and he kisses it gently. “I promise not to run out of the house screaming, ‘Fuck you, Tony’ when we’re in a fight.”

He huffs out a laugh. “That’s a good one.”

“I also promise to always throw rocks at drug dealers.”

He smiles and leans his forehead against my shoulder. “While also a good one.” He lifts his gaze, holding mine. “That could be dangerous, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Okay. Then I’ll revise it by saying, I promise to always throw rocks at Kyle.”

“Deal.” He laughs.

He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear and looks at me with reverence. “I hate that you’re going back tomorrow and hate it even more that I ruined our last day together.”

“You didn’t ruin it. That was all Kyle. Hence the rocks.”

“Right,” he scoffs. “Well, I guess we should talk about what the future will look like?”

“Here’s the thing.” I take his face between my palms. “You’re the first man I’ve ever loved, and I want a future with you. I mean, obviously, we have some kinks to figure out. Our conflict resolution skills could use work, but we need to be in the same city to do that.”

“But I can’t—”

“I know.” I pull his face toward mine for a chaste kiss. “You have a career you love here. You have family and friends. You own a condo. You have a life here. I don’t have anything back home besides my parents, but I can visit them. I’ll move here.”

“Yeah?” Boss’s eyes light up.

“Absolutely. I want to. I love it here. I have you and Cam…and I guess all the guys now, right?”

“Yeah.” He grins. “Once you’re pulled in, you’re family.”

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