Page 116 of The Betrayal You Serve

"Oh wow," I breathe, looking around at all the flickering candles and the fairy lights that are strung up everywhere. The table is set for two and there's a bottle of champagne chilling in the center. "Kane, this is incredible," I say, spinning toward him and smiling when I find a vulnerability in his eyes that no one outside of this house ever experiences.

"You like it?"

"What? How can you even ask that? It’s amazing."

"I wanted to thank you for everything, but I didn't even know where to start."

"It's perfect. And you have nothing to thank me for."

"Letty," he sighs. "I have everything to thank you for."

I stare up at him with tears burning the backs of my eyes.

"Also, we're celebrating."

"Oh?" My heart thunders against my rib cage that he might actually be about to give me some good news where college is concerned.

He pulls his cell from his pocket and taps on the screen for a second before he turns it around.

My eyes fly over the screen, not really reading what's in front of me but registering enough words to understand what I'm looking at.

"You're coming back!" I squeal. "You're coming back," I repeat, not able to believe what I'm reading. "Oh my God," I cry, throwing my arms around his shoulders, I hold him tight, the tears that were previously burning my eyes now freely streaming down my cheeks.

With his arms around me, he tucks his head into the crook of my neck, his own breath shuddering with emotion.

When he finally releases me and I get to look into his eyes, the sight of his own unshed tears rip me wide open.

"Kane," I breathe, taking his cheeks in my hands. "I love you. I love you so fucking much."

A groan rumbles from the back of his throat as he accepts my words.

"Fuck," he croaks, his voice deep and rough. "I've been dying to hear you say those words but now you have… fuck, Letty. I don't… I can't… shit." One of his tears finally drops and I catch it with my thumb. "I love you so much and I promise to spend the rest of my life making up for the past and proving to you just how much you mean to me."

"I know, Kane. You have nothing to prove."

"Fuck," he hisses, wrapping his hand around the side of my neck, the place he loves, and tilts my head to the perfect position so he can claim my lips.

His kiss is soft at first, gentle and full of emotion but in only a few short minutes, it turns heated.

"I need you, baby. I've waited long enough. I can't wait a second longer."

"Okay," I sigh against his lips and he immediately starts backing me toward the bedroom.

"This is it, Letty. This is where our lives begin."

Epilogue

Letty

Ten weeks later

Together Kane and I drove back to MKU the following Monday morning and we walked into our American lit class almost as if nothing had happened.

All eyes turned toward Kane, not only because of his sudden disappearance but also the fading bruises that still lingered on his face. He was almost back to normal but there was an obvious weakness on his left side that he was really going to need to work on in the coming weeks and months.

He had a meeting with the team doctor and then Coach that afternoon to discover that although he was officially back on the team, he was benched for at least four weeks while he continued to recover and build up strength.

Kane being Kane was determined to show them long before four weeks that he was ready, but Coach stood his ground and he wasn't allowed back on the field until the penultimate game of the season, and sadly, by then, the season was over for the Panthers. With Kane's absence and Luca's continuously declining mood, they ended up losing more games than they won.