Page 94 of Return to Me Always

"Bloody hell, this is hard," he said, running his hand through his hair.

"What?" I asked, starting to feel queasy myself with anticipation. "What's on your mind?"

"I just want, um,needto tell you something," he said.

My heart pounded in my chest. "Yeah? What is it?"

"I—I've kind of changed my mind about something," he paused, looking down at his hands.

"Okay. What?" I asked, absolutely dying to know.

"I fought it at first." He sighed. "God, did I fight it."

What could he possibly be talking about? That trembling feeling from last night returned as my hands started to shake. Was he trying to tell me he never wanted to see me again? Or was this going the other way?

He took a quick drink of water before continuing. "I didn't want fate or whatever telling me who to be with.Iwanted to choose. But then—then—"

"What?" I whispered, not able to breathe.

"But then..." He finally looked at me, his eyes filled with emotion. "Then I fell in love with you."

Oh, my God. My heart stopped, then pounded to life again, almost jumping out of my chest. Our gazes locked together, he studied my stunned expression.

"You," he said. "Not the dream you. But you now. Here."

The trembling took over my whole body. Was this real? Did Tyler actually just admit he loved me?

"Kat?" He stared at me, concern etching his face. "You okay?"

I nodded, feeling the tears rush to my eyes, especially at the sound of my name coming from his lips. Oh, no. I couldn't cry now.

With a hurricane of emotions whirling inside me, I fell into his arms, clinging to him like my life depended on it. I couldn't help it. The sobs came out—tears of relief, tears for everything we'd been through, tears of happiness.

Holding onto me, he stroked my back, stroked my hair, not saying anything, just offering his warmth and comfort.God, I loved this man. I sniffled, trying to get it under control.

Eventually, my crying stopped, and I pulled back, completely embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I just..." I paused, not sure how to even explain it all.

Tyler smiled, tucking my hair behind my ear. "It's okay. I understand."

"You do?"

He surprised me by nodding. "I finally get the words out and you burst into tears. That's always good for a poor lad's ego."

I gawked at his expressionless face, not sure if he was serious. But then he laughed, and I couldn't help joining in while my heart leapt in my chest with glee like I'd never known before.

Tyler loved me! Me!

Love and joy rushed through my veins as I stared into his bright blue eyes, dancing with happiness. I felt like I was floating in euphoria.

"So?" he asked.

"So?"

Tyler raised a brow while understanding dawned on me. I hadn't said it back, and now he was squirming a bit. I absolutely loved it.

"So," I said, grabbing the dessert menu. "What looks good for later?"

He busted out laughing and grabbed me to him, a serious look taking over his features as his eyes fell to my mouth, making it nearly impossible to breathe. Ever so slowly, his lips brushed mine. And this time, the kiss had a whole new feeling because I knew he loved me.

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