Page 145 of Resisting Isaac

“I love you.” The words fall out of my mouth like a breath I’d been holding for far too long.

His jaw clenches, and for a second, I think maybe I’ve said it too late.

“I didn’t want to leave,” I whisper. “I thought I had to. Thought keeping you safe meant letting you go. I didn’t get to say it, and when everything was on fire, and you were chasing me down like a man with nothing left to lose, all I could think waswhat if I never got the chance to tell you?With the way I behave . . . I didn’t know if you knew.”

He’s across the kitchen in two long strides, lifting me into his arms like I weigh nothing.

“I knew. I always knew.” He kisses me reverently, feverish at first then softer, like he’s memorizing my mouth. “But it feels good to hear. I love you so fucking much, Elena. I didn’t know it was possible to love another person this much.”

“Me either.” I cling to him, face buried in his neck.

He pulls back and presses his forehead to mine. “Say it again.”

“I love you, cowboy. More than my own life.”

A shudder rips through him like the weight of those words rearranges something deep inside him. That’s how it feels for me, how it’s felt since that first night. It wasn’t love then, but it was a stronger connection than I’ve ever allowed myself to have.

“You are my life now, Elena. You and our child. My whole life. My whole heart. And I’m never letting either of you go.”

He kisses me like it’s the only thing he ever wants to do. Like he’s starving.

When he finally pulls back, he’s grinning through misty eyes.

“You’re not getting rid of me now, you know that, right?”

I smile. Then gesture to my growing mid-section. “I figured.”

He brushes his thumb over my cheek. “Swear on everything, I’ll never step foot in a bar or strip club again.”

I snort out a laugh. “I wasn’t actually that upset about that. More so that Carly Whatsherface knew before I did.”

“That will never happen again either,” he promises.

“Better not,” I say, pinching his side firmly.

He chuckles. “The guys did ask how you felt about me having a bachelor party. But I told them I wasn’t ever risking pissing you off and losing you like that again.”

“Serious question. Not that the ceremony in Santa Fe wasn’t beautiful and special, because it was. And it means the world to me that my dad got to be a part of it. But do you want to have a real wedding, one here for your family?”

Isaac regards me like a little boy I just told we’re having two Christmases this year. “You would do that?”

I nod. “Of course. I mean, I’ll probably still have to invite my family and they will show up. Probably some we wish wouldn’t.”

He grins. “Ivy and my mom will invite the entire town. People I don’t even know.”

I laugh, because I know they will. “I know. Maybe we can wait awhile though, until production wraps at least? So I can focus on our special day and not cram it in between takes.”

“Our certificate is good for one hundred and seventy-three more days,” he tells me.

“Are you keeping count, cowboy?”

“I thought that was how long I had to convince you to marry me for real. Clock was ticking.”

I love this man. And I love how much he loves me.

“You can have a bachelor party as long as I get a bachelorette party.”

He thinks this over. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I can let you out of my sight ever again.”