Page 83 of The Love Trick

“Yeah…” His voice trails off. “That’s why I’m late. I just couldn’t do the fancy shoes. They were too much.”

I nod, lost in a stupor. I want to be mad at him. I want to yell that I don’t want him here, but I can’t bring myself to do that. Instead, I’m so relieved to see his face that I rush toward him, wrapping my arms around him in a hug.

“I’m so sorry that I blocked you, and I’m sorry that I—”

“Stop.” Blaze lets out a breath. “I need to talk first.”

I loosen my grip, my heart sinking. “If this is about the kisses, we don’t—”

“Addy.” He says my name curtly as he takes a step away from me. “Ineedto get something off my chest before we start going into all this, okay?”

I nod, wrapping my arms back around myself. “Okay…”

“Okay.” He breathes out the word, and then silence follows.

Tapping my foot, I blow out a sharp breath. “So…”

“This is just really nerve-wracking.” Blaze runs a hand over his face. “But I’m here tonight, because first of all, I haven’t missed your birthday in over a decade.”

I nod. “Uh-huh…”

“And your mom and sister invited me.”

“Okay, I was not expecting that.” I raise my brows, unable to hide my surprise. I cock my hip out, knowing there’s more.

“Also…” Blaze holds my gaze, his eyes locked in on mine. “I love you, Addy—and I don’t mean I love you like a friend. I mean, I love you the whole nine yards, and I have loved you since college. Since the day we met. I thought you were the prettiest klutz I’d ever seen. That’s why I gave you my jersey. I wanted to make you my girlfriend, but I didn’t know how.”

“Blaze…” My voice trails off as tears fill my eyes.

“No, no.” He shakes his head and takes a step toward me. “Let me finish. Our time apart has given me alotof time to think. And I finally realized why I’ve been so afraid to lose you.”

“Okay…” I say softly, my heart racing as I wait for his next words.

Blaze takes a deep breath and continues, his eyes never leaving mine. “Growing up in foster care, there were times I wondered if that place and those people would become my family. But every time I got my hopes up, it was time to pack up my bags and move on. And I finally realized that’s why I’ve been so terrified to lose you. Because you’ve become my family, Addy. You’re the family I choose.”

“Oh, Blaze.” Tears stream down my face now, and everything suddenly makes sense. “I’m so sorry you’ve been carrying that weight all this time. I had no idea.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t want to burden you with my past, but it’s a part of me—a part that made me who I am today. And the night of your graduation party, when I told you I loved you and you took it the wrong way, it made me think that it was more secure for us to be friends. So, I shoved those romantic feelings so far down in my chest that I thought they’d disappeared. But they didn’t, and the moment I got topretendto be your boyfriend, I subconsciously realizedthatwas what I’ve always wanted to be.”

“My boyfriend?” I ask, sniffling.

“Yeah, but more than that.” Blaze grabs my hand. “I want to spend forever with you, and to be honest, I don’t want to just date you. I want to sweep you up and marry you, because for some reason, in my head, it feels like if we just date, I run the risk of losing you—which is the whole reason I was scared. But as it turns out, my fear is the reason I almost lost you, anyway. And I’m so sorry for that. I’m sorry that I was scared, and I’m sorry that I didn’t understand myself until now … But I’m—”

“Blaze,” I cut him off. “I love you, too.”

He sighs, his whole body finally relaxing. “Okay, so happy birthday, then? Are we good now? Can we go back to normal?”

I raise my brows as he threads an arm around my waist. “I don’t think we can go back to our old normal, Blaze.”

He chuckles, brushing his nose against mine. “I meant thenewnormal, Adeline.” His lips brush mine, and I catch my breath as he hums against me. “The moment I kissed you, all I could think about was doing it again.”

“Really?” I giggle as he plants light kisses along my jaw.

“Mhmm,” he murmurs, holding me tighter against me. “You’re like a drug, Addy, and I think I’m addicted.”

“That sounds serious,” I breathe out as his lips trail downward to my neck, and his hands slide to my lower back. “You might need some help.”

“No, thanks.” He chuckles and then lets out a sigh against my skin. “Oh, yeah, wait.” He pulls away, leaving me longing for him to come back. “I got you something. Well, I technically got youtwothings, but one was afriendgift, and this one is a gift for mygirlfriend. Apparently, when I looked it up online, there’s a difference.”

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