Page 143 of Reckless Harmony

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

He shook his head quickly. “No, it’s… I know why you thought that, and part of the reason I was upset and angry is because, deep down, I knew it had started that way. I was only nice to you because I thought it would get me what I wanted. Then I got to know you and realized how incredible you were, and I felt so fucking guilty. I know this doesn’t make it right, but I regret it intensely, Rayna. I’m an asshole, but I’m working hard not to be one and to be a genuinely good person.”

She cupped his face. “You are a genuinely good person, Isaac. Everything you’ve done for me and the rescue… it was stupid of me to pretend that it was only because you wanted something from me. In my heart, I knew that it wasn’t that, but I… I guess I felt a little vulnerable myself.”

“You’re incredible, and I love you,” Isaac said.

“You love me,” she whispered, her body going still with shock.

“Yes,” he said.

Her body trembling, her mind racing, Rayna said, “I love you, too.”

The tenseness left his shoulders, and he gave her a relieved smile. “Thank fucking Christ.”

“Please buy my house,” she said.

He kissed her instead of answering. She returned his kiss eagerly, sliding her tongue into his mouth, his familiar taste almost making her cry again. She’d missed him so damn much in the last week, and suddenly the only thing that mattered to her was getting him into her bed. She needed to be with him again, craving that connection she had only with him.

“Come upstairs.” She tried to slide off his lap, but he shook his head and tightened his arms around her.

“We need to talk, Rayna.”

“I know, and we will,” she said. “I need you, Isaac.”

“I need you too, baby,” he said, but instead of releasing her, he studied the boxes sitting on the kitchen table. “I know what Mack did.”

Embarrassment rocketed through her, but she wasn’t surprised. The entire damn town probably knew at this point. Straightening her spine, she said, “Then you know why it’s so important I sell the house. I fucked up, Isaac, and this is the only way to fix it.”

“You didn’t fuck up,” he said fiercely. “Mack is the bad guy, Rayna.”

She sighed, hating that Isaac knew how stupid she’d been. “You were right about it being a mistake to give Mack the control I did with the finances. I should never have done that. This is my fault. I am so stupid.”

“No, you aren’t,” he said. “You trusted someone you believed was a friend, and he betrayed that trust, baby. You are far from stupid.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you for saying that.”

“I mean every word of it,” he said. “On Tuesday night, when I talked about tearing the house down, I -”

“I overreacted,” Rayna said. “I’m sorry.”

He kissed her throat. “You don’t need to apologize for anything. But let me say this, okay?”

She nodded, and he smoothed her hair back from her face before tracing his fingertip over a hole in her leggings. “I realized that day how much I loved you, and I was picturing a life with you. When I talked about tearing the house down, it was because I was thinking about the house we would build together. But obviously, that wasn’t clear to you because I hadn’t said a word to you about how I felt. I got caught up in the moment, I think.”

“You want to build a house with me?”

“I want to build a life with you,” he said.

She pressed her lips together, trying hard to stave off the tears. “Shit, I’m going to cry again.”

“That’s okay,” he said.

She sniffed loudly. “I never cry, Isaac.”

“That’s fine. I can be the crier in our relationship.”

She couldn’t help but giggle at the solemnity of his face, and he grinned at her. “I love you, baby.”

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