Page 53 of Two Is Better Than One

"Well, I'm pretty sure she loves you because she was bawling her eyes out a second ago when she let me in here."

"My sister was crying?" I asked, my eyes stinging at the thought of it.

"She was crying. Bawling. She was covering her face."

"Was she happy?" I asked.

"Yes, she was happy. She hugged me, and she thanked me for coming back. She was actively crying when she left the room. Brooks was completely confused."

I leaned up and kissed his perfect rebel mouth. "How did you get to leave work in the first place?"

"I got reassigned over some photos that were taken at the swimming pool the night before I left. Whoever took it… I think they squashed it from going public. But my boss was saying that to continue on my path, I would have to refrain from…" he trailed off.

"From seeing me?" I asked.

"Yes."

"The FBI talked about me?" I asked, causing him to give me an amused grin.

"Yes. They did. I used the reassignment to resign."

"Are you saying you got in trouble for me touching you in the pool? Who even got a picture of that?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter. I knew I might get in trouble for doing it, and I was okay with the consequences. I allowed myself a moment of recklessness for love's sake. I figured I'd make a small error, and let the cards fall where they might. If that didn't work, I told myself the London job would be my last."

I held onto him. "I'm so amazed that you're here right now. I don't want this to have to be a secret. I want to hold hands with you without caring what the cameras think."

"Well, it's not about my job anymore, it's about yours, and just know that I'm a rock. I'm not going anywhere. We can take it slow, and I can do the bodyguard thing where we wait for our moments behind closed doors. I'm not impatient about making some kind of announcement… I'll wait for you if you want to take it slow for your fans."

"I love you, Casey. Is that slow enough for you? I actually l-o-v-e you. I know it. I spent the last ten days assuming I would never see you again, and it was horrible. I mean, I've gone this long without meeting someone like you, I thought I'd never be able to again, and now I'm… I love you, and I don’t need you to say it back, but I do. Just know that I've never told anyone that. I've never said those words to anyone—you know, besides my family."

"No one?" he asked. He knew I had a short-lived public relationship with Pauly Brunswick, lead singer of a band called No Credit for Caroline.

"No one," I confirmed, staring into his dark-rimmed hazel eyes. I was entranced, in love, and so relieved. "No one but you," I said.

"I'm happy you said that to me just now."

"You are?" I asked, smiling. "That means you feel it back."

"Yeah, yeah, you're probably right. I do feel it back. I thought I might when I dropped everything and took the first flight here."

"Do you feel it right in there?" I pointed at his broad chest—just off center—to his heart.

"I feel it in every inch of my body, Summer Stockton."

I leaned upward and put my face right next to his. He held me and my body molded to his. "Are you saying you're going to be my bodyguard for the rest of my life?"

"I can't even believe you're asking me that right now. I can't believe you love me."

"Please believe it, because it's true."

Epilogue

Allie Stockton

Six months later

A double wedding

---