Page 136 of Pucking Tangled
Her fingers squeezed his.
“They want me to be someone I’m not. They always have. Always expected I’d marry some sweet girl with a church background, a trust fund, and a real quiet mouth. Someone they could brag about to their friends.”
“Instead, you chose me,” she whispered.
He smiled against her skin. “Yeah. You. The smart, sharp-mouthed law student who makes my whole damn chest ache when she walks into a room.”
“And a woman who comes with three other guys, too,” Mia snorted. “Do you regret it?”
He rolled toward her, nudging her onto her back so he could look her full in the face. Her hair was a mess, cheeks flushed, lips pink and swollen from his kisses—and still, even now, she looked scared of his answer.
Waylon bent down, kissed her slowly and softly.
“I’d lose them a hundred times before I’d ever choose them over you.”
Her eyes shimmered in the low light.
“And over the guys?” she asked.
Waylon shook his head. “You and the guys are a package deal. It’s not one or the other. It’sus.”
She wrapped her arms around him.
Waylon closed his eyes and held her tighter.
There was so much they still had to figure out. Conversations to be had. Fights to weather. But here, in this dark room, in this stolen sliver of night, none of that mattered.
He’d chosen her.
And he’d do it again tomorrow.
And the day after that.
“Do you think they’ll ever come around?” Mia asked.
He sighed. “If I’m being honest, no. Not really.”
“But I don’t need them to, Mia. Not anymore.” He held her closer. “I’ve got all I need, right here.”
Mia looked at him like she was desperate to believe him, but wasn’t quite sure she could. “You say that now,” she said, brushing her thumb along his jaw. “But what happens when this stops being easy?”
Waylon kissed the inside of her wrist. “You think this iseasy?”
There wasn’t a damn thingeasyabout the world watching and judging their love story.
She smiled, her expression wry. “Okay.Fun, then.”
“It’ll still be us,” he said, voice steady. “Whatever shape that takes. If it gets hard, we work harder. If the world gets loud, we shut the door. We’ll all take care of each other. That’s the beauty in all of this.”
Mia stayed quiet, but he felt her relax and blow out a breath. Then she reached down, pulled the sheet up over both of them, and tucked herself in against his chest, ready to fall asleep.
He felt her smile against his skin.
And just before she drifted off, her voice was barely audible as she whispered, “Thank you… for choosing me.”
The next morning,Waylon was pulled from sleep by a knock on his bedroom door.
“Hey, Way, we’re getting ready to leave. You coming?” Luca called out from the other side.
