Page 92 of Turn Up The Heat

“If you tossed in spring rolls, I’m really going to owe you big, Jenna,” she said under her breath, peering into the semi-darkened main room from the mouth of the hallway.

“Hi.”

“Oh, shit!” Bellamy yelped, clapping her free hand over her heart and sloshing wine all over the other. She blinked, hard and fast, at the source of the voice coming from the living room couch, and her pulse sped up even faster. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Shane stood up, but didn’t move toward her. Wow, he lookedterrible. Bellamy’s heartstrings did a little dance before she could stop them.

He looked at her, seeming to measure his words with care. “I came to talk to you. I was going to knock, but then I ran into Jenna outside. I’m sorry if I startled you, but she said…well, neither one of us thought you’d let me in if I knocked.”

Bellamy closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, then another to steady the adrenaline squeezing through her veins. “You’re probably right about that,” she said, slapping her resolve into place.

A thought hit her, then, making her heart drop. Shane really did look like he’d been through hell. “Is Grady okay?” she asked.

Shane’s eyes flickered with emotion. “Yeah. He’ll be in the hospital for a few more days, but he’s recovering. They moved him out of the ICU today, and he got to eat some normal food. He said it’s definitely not your lasagna, but it would do.”

Even though Bellamy tried to resist the urge, a faint smile found her lips. “I’m so glad. I’ve been thinking about him.” She clutched the stem of her glass, the wine turning slightly sticky in her palm.

“Me, too. I’ve been thinking about a lot of things, actually.”

There’s nothing he can say that will make things different,her pride whispered.

Shane straightened, taking a small step toward her. “I owe you an apology, Bellamy. I never should have kept anything from you, and I’m so, so sorry.”

Except maybe that.

“But you did keep things from me. Important things,” she whispered.

“I did, and I wish I could change it. I was…foolish.” He paused. “I was scared you wouldn’t understand. Hell, I didn’t even understand it. And it turns out the whole thing was pretty stupid, anyway.”

Her brows lifted in surprise, but she didn’t interrupt.

Shane said, “I was afraid of coming back to a place that I thought would define me, but really, everything that defines me has been here all along.” Shane brushed a hand over his chest and took another step toward her. “You taught me that.”

Her head sprang up, sloshing another trickle of wine over the rim of the glass. “I did?”

He gave her a half-smile. “Yeah, you did. You kind of snuck up on me, with all that honesty. It threw me for a loop at first, but then it made me realize what an idiot I’ve been. I just didn’t know it until it was too late.”

Bellamy felt a tremble work its way from the center of her body outward. “So, you came all the way out here to tell me that? Why didn’t you just call me?”

The half-smile became a familiar chuckle. “Because you’d have hung up on me, which I’d have deserved. And because I wanted to come here, to the city. To you. I don’t want to be without you, even if that means being here. I don’t want to leave Pine Mountain, I really don’t, but I don’t want to be without you more. So, whatever I have to do to make that happen, I’m going to do, even if it means being here.”

Shane met her eyes, unwavering and strong. “You want to know who I really am? I’m the guy who’s in love with you, Bellamy. I’ll do whatever it takes. Just trust that you reallydoknow me and give me a chance. Please?”

Bellamy stood, speechless, in the middle of the floor, measuring the words in her head very carefully.

“Truth?” she asked, not letting go of his dark gaze.

Shane exhaled a shaky breath, but locked his eyes on hers. “Of course.”

“I do know you, and I trust you. Pride be damned, I love you, Shane Griffin, and the last twenty-four hours have been miserable. So, if you could please come here, I would really like for you to hold me and not let go for a really long time.”

His eyes went wide, and she cracked a grin as he processed her words.

“You…hold on…you…”

“Yes. I’m waiting.” She laughed, and Shane closed the space between them in two long strides. He threw his arms around her, and she buried her face in the gorgeous angle of his shoulder, inhaling the scent of him down to her toes.

“God, I love you. And I really mean it. I’ll come here on the weekends, we’ll figure something out. I can’t be without you,” Shane said, bending down to kiss the damp crown of her hair.

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