Page 173 of Waiting For A Girl Like You
Simone laid a hand against her throat. “That poor baby,” she whispered, watching Madison sob as she clung to Claudia. “What on earth did they go through in that house?”
“Hell.” Bernie joined them. She hadn’t taken her eyes off her son, tracking him as he moved through the crowd. “They’ve been through hell.”
Seeing what was happening on the ground, Ben hurried to where they worked on Damon and Holden. He and Jamison spoke to what appeared to be the medical team leader, with Ben pointing off in the distance while shaking his head.
“Ben’s already telling everybody what to do, and… oh, my.” Annabeth’s mouth dropped open. “Is Damon really trying to get up?”
Damon was indeed trying to rise, pushing away the poor paramedic attempting to place an oxygen mask on him.
“That would be how he is,” Rowan replied when Damon broke free to trap his sisters and Madison in a hug. “Does anyone know if Trevor has been notified?”
“Will said he called him earlier.” Bernie grabbed her phone from the couch. “But I’m not sure what he looks like. Have you seen him? Did he make it?”
“He’s not there,” Simone said solemnly as she searched the crowd. Rowan flipped through several camera views to double-check, but Simone was right. There was no sign of Trevor or Heather Fairweather.
“Ben will handle it,” Annabeth assured them. “He’ll take care of everything. He always does.”
Bernie’s phone rang with a call from Will, and she and Simone huddled in a corner so they could hear.
While they were distracted, Rowan pulled Annabeth into the hall, and the second she was out of view of her mother, the tears started. He kept walking, dragging her straight into the library. Once they were inside the room, he closed the door to hold her so she could let her emotions free without an audience.
“I thought she was dead.” Annabeth covered her face with her hands. Finding a spot on the small sofa, Rowan plopped down and hauled her into his lap. “I thought Liam was dead. After that explosion, I thought we lost them.”
He tucked her head under his chin. “But we didn’t. They made it out, and you helped make it happen. You were amazing.”
“I loved helping,” she cried. “And I know it’s stupid, but I liked how well we worked as a team.”
Rowan groaned at his stubborn woman. “We are a team. We’re the best team. Team McIntyre.”
Annabeth Howard’s laugh was the most beautiful sound in the world. When she was truly happy, it always came out as a cross between a giggle and a sigh. Hearing it mixed with her tears of relief made it somehow more beautiful, and when she moved to straddle him, he damn near fell in love all over again.
“I’m not a McIntyre.”
Lifting his back off the couch, he cupped her cheek and moved in for a kiss. “Yet.”
“Yes.”
The kiss forgotten, his half-closed eyes flew open as his heart bounced right up into his throat. “Wait, what?”
“I said, yet.” Her smile turned mischievous. “I just repeated what you said.”
“No, you didn’t.”
He was shouting.
He realized this.
He did not care.
“You. Said.Yes.”
Annabeth shrugged her slender shoulders and tried to rise off him. “If I did, I misspoke. It’s not like you actually asked me a question or anything.”
If he hadn’t been so tired, he would have shouted a victory cry, but as it was, he was nearly dead on his feet and settled for pouncing on her instead. Flipping them to where she was spread out under him on the couch, he kissed her. And it wasn’t just a regular kiss. It was a kiss for the ages, one that he poured every ounce of love into.
“Promise me something,” she said, breathless when he finally pulled back. “Promise me that you’ll kiss me like that every day.”
She was his. All his. She could fight him however she wanted, but Annabeth Howard would be on the losing side of the battle. He would win her over, and one day, he would marry her standing under the Marriage Oak. Haven House would become their home. He would give her an amazing life under this old roof. A million adventures in the backyard. Kids. Cats. Dogs. The world. Whatever she wanted, it would be hers.
