Page 46 of Taking The Shot

She could feel the weight of whatever was pressing on him, the way it sat heavily on his shoulders. “How?” she asked gently.

He turned to her then, fully, his fingers flexing around hers as if bracing himself, as if terrified that she might pull away. His eyes searched hers, desperate, uncertain. And then, in the quietest of voices, he spoke.

“When everything happened… that was going to be my first time.” His cheeks flushed, and she could see the war waging within him—the struggle between vulnerability and the fear of judgment. “I made sure I never put myself in that predicamentagain because I was terrified of some police officer popping out of nowhere. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a little shy when it comes to this stuff. And I feel… well,ineptwhen I kiss you because I haven’t kissed many girls.” He swallowed, his voice cracking as raw emotion bled into his words. “And I’ve slept withzero.”

Her breath caught.

Something inside her melted at the sheer honesty in his voice. The hesitation. The way he was offering up a piece of himself, terrified of what she might do with it.

She picked up his hand and gently cradled it over her heart, holding it there as if she could press her love into his palm. “Good,” she whispered, emotion thick in her throat. “That means you are mine.”

His lips parted, his breath unsteady.

“Oh, Constance…” He exhaled her name like a prayer. “I think I’ve been yours since the moment I met you.” His fingers curled slightly against her chest as if clinging to her presence, grounding himself in her warmth. “You have this gentleness to you that I desperately need in my world, my life… and it feels like where I belong. I feel it. I see it.”

Tears burned the backs of her eyes, but she didn’t blink them away. Instead, she leaned in, her voice barely more than a breath. “Then kiss me.” She held his gaze, steady, unwavering. “Hold me. Touch me, and let’s learn what this is like together. Paige and Kayla aren’t the same child. I’m not Jamie, Ashley, Irene, or any of the other wives. And you… you aren’t Robert.”

The flicker of recognition in his eyes told her he understood exactly what she meant.She swallowed past the lump in her throat, the weight of memories pressing against her ribs.

“And I know that. I said my goodbyes two years ago,” she whispered, her voice steady despite the storm inside her. “I held his hand as he passed. Those moments were brutal. Destructive.Yet, in some strange way, I think I needed them to move on. I saw his light, his energy move on instead of being trapped in that body that was dying. And I know—deep in my soul—that he’s in heaven, watching over the girls.” She paused, inhaling deeply. “In some ways… I’d like to think that he would have approved of you, too.”

His brows furrowed slightly. “Really?”

“Yes,” she whispered, nodding. “You make me happy, and that’s all he ever wanted for me. His last request—his final words to me—was to be happy and to make sure the girls were taken care of. And I feel like you’ve picked up that gauntlet and made it your own.” A tear slipped down her cheek, and she let it fall. “Does that sound crazy? Because I never imagined any of this. I never imagined loving again, and yet, here I am—thankful for every single second of this strange life with you. You’ve given us everything. You’ve provided for me and supported me in ways I couldn’t have dreamed of. You’ve treated my daughters like they are your own… and it’s barely been weeks. It takes a very special person to be so accepting,” Her voice broke, but she pressed on. “And I think you are a gift—just for me.”

A choked laugh escaped him, but his eyes were shining with unshed tears as he quickly wiped them away. “You’re gonna turn me into a crying mess saying sweet stuff like that.”

She gave him a watery smile. “You mean,‘the truth’…?”

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he stared at her. Then, slowly, he rose to his feet, never releasing her hand. He tugged her gently, coaxing her to stand with him.

She followed without hesitation.

His hand came up, warm and calloused, to cup her cheek.

And then, he leaned in.

His lips met hers, warm and soft, coaxing rather than taking. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close, until the space between them ceased to exist. They simply stood there,holding, tasting, breathing each other in—offering comfort in the simplest, most intimate way possible.

But then, something shifted.

His kisses deepened, and her breath hitched.

That soft, lingering warmth between them suddenly flared, igniting into something more—something deeper like an inferno meeting oxygen for the first time.

Keith broke the kiss, his breath coming in uneven pants as he gazed at her with an intensity that stole the air from her lungs.

“Are you sure?”

“Don’t ask me that again…” she growled.

“All right,” he chuckled, his voice full of emotion, as he took her hand, walking backward toward their bedroom – and then stumbled, catching himself and rolling his eyes. “Do they make a Caveman Barbie with no pointy shoes? I swear those pink plastic high heels are everywhere and instruments of torture.”

“You should try Legos,” she said flatly – but smiling.

“Uh, no. Legos are forbidden in this house.”

“Sure they are…Daddy,” she teased, laughing at him as she knew he would fold like a house of cards if one of the children asked him for it. Keith was laughing with her, self-aware of his own lack of spine when it came to them, as he continued walking, pulling her closer into their room and shutting the door behind her.

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