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I laugh. “Really? I can’t flirt with my fiancée? After what we did last night?” She purses her lips tightly, and even on the grainy video, I can see her cheeks flushing. “Not to mention the fact you’re wearing my shirt right now. Are you trying to kill me over here?”

Her gaze drops to the fabric, and she pulls it away from her, reading the name of my high school, North Central High. “I’m sorry. I saw it in the laundry, and I wanted something comfortable to wear. I figured you’d never know.”

I hum, tilting my head. “So you admit you stole it?”

She scowls. “No. I borrowed it.”

“Permanently?”

“Maybe,” she huffs, glaring at the camera like she’s going to kick it into oblivion in a minute.

“Aw, Sav. You already know you can take whatever the hell you want from my house, and I’ll help you carry it to your car. I’m just surprised out of everything, you decided to take a shirt. One that hasn’t been washed, no less.”

Her shoulders roll, and she cowers into herself.

“Yeah, well, you weren’t home, and this smelled of you.

” She says the last part so quietly I almost don’t hear it.

Then she tugs the collar of my shirt up until it covers half of her face, leaving only those big, green eyes peeking over the fabric, watching me like she’s embarrassed by the confession.

“You can’t hide from me. You know I can see you, right?”

She pulls the shirt away and rolls her eyes. “Obviously. You’re literally spying on me through a dog camera.”

I smirk. “First of all, checking in is not the same as spying. And second…” I pause, letting my voice drop a little lower. “I meant I can see you. As in who you are deep down. Sometimes I don’t think you even realize how strong you are.”

“That’s not true.” She tries to say it under her breath, but I still manage to hear it since Madison got the expensive camera.

“It is.”

She lifts her head, her mouth parting in surprise.

“You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.

You’ve lived in your car for over a year and still found hope in your future.

I don’t think I could do that. Let’s not forget how fiercely loyal you are.

You’ll fight for the people you love, even if it means depriving yourself of things you want because material things?

They don’t matter to you. You see through all that superficial bullshit. ”

“And what am I depriving myself of right now?”

“Freedom. You could run away from everything and have no responsibility, but instead, you’re focused on doing things to get your sister back even if it means you’re trapped working for an asshole. An asshole who doesn’t know what’s coming to him, I might add.”

She swallows, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. Then, slowly, she lifts it back up over her mouth, cowering into it.

I grin. “You know if you keep doing that, I’m going to start thinking you’re hiding something.”

“I just…” She exhales, her voice muffled through the fabric. “I don’t know how to take that.”

“Take it as a compliment because that’s what it is.”

“I’m not good at taking compliments.”

“Well, you’re going to need to get used to them.” My voice is light, but I mean every word. “Because you’re gonna be hearing them a lot.”

She rolls her eyes. “Besides stalking me and trying to give me unearned compliments, was there something you wanted?”

I tap my fingers against the comforter, debating how to phrase this. Then I realize that it’s going to come out sooner or later, so I might as well just say it. “Those were my main reasons for checking in on you, but I also think it’s important you know I told my friends.”

“About?” Okay, clearly that didn’t register, and she isn’t thinking about our potential nuptials as much as I am.

“Our engagement.”

She sucks in a sharp breath, her eyes staring down at the camera. “Oh, you did?”

Shit. Did I fuck up?

“I’m sorry. Fuck.” I drag my free hand through my hair, feeling like an asshole.

“This was clearly a logistics question I should’ve run by you first. I planned on only telling Dash.

He’s my best friend, and you haven’t met him yet, but he already knows there’s something going on between us.

I wanted to tell him before he spotted you at a game wearing my ring. ”

“Your ring?”

“And not the ring pop I gave you, either. Something that will sparkle so much, it will distract our opponents,” I joke, hoping that would lighten the mood.

She stays quiet, which only pushes me to keep talking.

“That’s not you, though. Obviously. I’ll be looking at something a little more understated. Something that reminds me of you.”

She lets out an unconvincing laugh and starts to play with the blanket, not looking up.

“Talk to me, Sav. Please.”

It takes her a few minutes to look back up. Her eyes are glassy, and I feel like shit that I’ve upset her. “I told Adley today too, and I don’t know. Telling people makes me feel like it’s more real. More tangible, you know?”

“Is that making you upset?”

“Umm, yes? No. I don’t know. I just never imagined myself getting married after my parents died, and all of this is kind of bringing up a lot of emotions.”

“Oh.”

She shakes her head, laughing nervously. “I guess I didn’t think I’d ever find someone I’d want to commit something like that to.”

“Something like what? To love?”

She shakes her head. “No. To lose. To commit to loving someone until you lose them in the worst kind of way. I don’t know.

It always felt tragic to me. You find someone you want to love forever, but that’s physically impossible, right?

We all know it, yet we celebrate it. I’ve lost the two most important people in my life once.

Doing it again… with you… feels like it could end up a lot like torture. ”

The words hit me like a freight train to the chest, stealing every breath from my lungs. Through the screen, I watch her curl deeper into herself, making herself smaller, like she's trying to disappear entirely.

“So because you don’t want it to end, you won’t even let it start?”

I wish I were there with her right now so I could scoop her up and bring her to our bed. Not to have my way with her, but to hold her and prove that I’m not going anywhere. I will fucking fight for her until my last breath.

Thankfully, Stanley jumps back onto the couch and snuggles up to her, offering the comfort I wish I could.

“I guess so,” she says meekly, and she tries to discreetly wipe a tear away. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve always felt a little numb, like maybe all my emotions turned off the day I was sent to California, and I haven’t been able to get them back on until you.”

Her honesty is refreshing and although it stings a tiny bit to hear her say that I’m glad she feels close enough to me to express it.

“As much as I’d like to take all the credit for that. It’s not completely true, though, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You haven’t turned your emotions off. If you had, you wouldn’t be fighting right now.”

“I’m not fighting.”

I shake my head. “You fight every fucking day and don’t see it, Savannah.

Hit after hit, you take every single thing that happens to you in your stride, and you push for better.

You have more hope and strength in your pinkie finger than I’ve ever seen in anyone else.

Don’t drag yourself down with the notion that you can’t love because you will lose.

That’s life. We all lose that battle in the end, but if you give up before then, what’s the point?

Why are you trying to get your sister back? ”

“Because I love her.” She presses her teeth into her bottom lip, and I can tell she’s holding it all in. She always does. She has to keep this facade of being strong because otherwise it’ll all come crashing down on her.

“Exactly. Fight for what you love. For what you want. Lord knows I’m fighting.”

“What are you fighting for?”

“You.” I let that fact sink in. “I’m fighting to prove you’re worth everything I want to give you.”

She doesn’t say anything, just gives me a small nod in acknowledgment.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m worried that once helping the poor orphan girl novelty wears off, it’s all going to be over.”

“Are you worried I’m not going to go through with this?”

“I-I don’t know.”

She is. How could she possibly believe me when everyone else has left her?

“I’m never going to leave you,” I breathe out the words without thinking.

Fuck me, this girl is tortured, and it’s all her own doing.

“I know a lot of people have let you down in your life, but please don’t look at me like that without even giving me the opportunity to prove to you that I’ll fight for you. ”

“I don’t plan on leaving either,” she says quietly, and boy does that admission do more for my heart than it should.

“Good. Then before we even think about getting married, I need to meet your sister. We can do it virtually, or I can figure out a way to get you on the flight for our next game in Connecticut.”

Her head snaps up at that. “Wha—you mean, see her? In person?”

“Yeah. I want to do that for you, and she needs to be comfortable with me too.” My voice is steady, but my chest feels tight with the weight of what I'm promising.

“Plus, I have zero doubt the adoption agency is going to grill her about me.

About us. She needs to know who I am, really know me, not just the guy who's suddenly in her big sister's life.”

I watch Savannah through the screen, the way her shoulders seem to relax just a fraction at my words.

“I'm not just marrying you, Sav. I'm choosing your family, your life, all the beautiful chaos that comes with loving you.” I lean back against the hotel headboard, my voice dropping lower. “Adley deserves to feel safe with me. To trust me. And that's not something that happens overnight.”

The truth of it settles in my bones because this isn't just about convincing some faceless agency that I'm good enough. It's about earning the trust of a teenager who's probably been let down by too many adults already.

“We'll figure it out together, Pretty Girl. All three of us.”

“You’re right.” She nods, and I can tell she’s not completely sold yet, but we’ll get there. We have time. “Thank you.”

“You’re always welcome.”

She sniffles softly as she continues stroking Stanley, and the sound makes my chest ache. I need to pull her out of this spiral before it drags her under completely.

“We destroyed them tonight.”

“I know.”

That catches me off guard. “You do? Well, look who's talking about stalking. Seems like you were doing a little reconnaissance of your own, Pretty Girl.”

“I wasn't stalking.” There's the faintest hint of a smile in her voice, and I feel like I've won the fucking lottery. “I just checked the score. It's not like I can actually watch you play.”

“Yet,” I correct, already planning how to fix that particular problem. “Soon you'll be at every home game, wearing my jersey and cheering loud enough to distract the other team.”

“Is that so?”

“Damn right it is. You're going to be my good luck charm, Sav. My personal cheerleader.” I grin at the phone even though she can't see it. “You free tomorrow?” I have a few things planned, but the less she knows about it, the better. “You’re not working, are you?” I try to make it sound nonchalant, that I’m not chewing myself up just thinking about how to get her out of there.

She shakes her head. “No.”

The relief I feel from that one word is pathetic.

“I told Luke I’m still recovering from your visit.”

I smirk. My visit. The one where she came on my fucking lap and thanked me for it later in the shower. “Glad I’m not the only one recovering,” I say, blowing out a breath. “Doubt I ever will.”

She rolls her eyes at that.

“But just so we’re clear, the next time you go there, it’s going to be handing in your notice and never returning.”

“I like your optimism.”

“It’s not optimistic. It’s a fact. You’re getting out of there, Savannah. We’ll torch the place down if you want.”

“I wish.” She lets out a big yawn, stretching. “You should get some sleep. You’re probably exhausted after your game.”

I arch a brow. “Are you kicking me off my own dog cam?”

“Well, if you called my phone like a normal person, maybe I wouldn't be able to do that.”

“I tried calling your ancient piece of technology.

Twice. It went straight to voicemail, and even if it had worked, I wouldn't be able to see your beautiful face.” I shift against the headboard, already missing her.

“So do me a favor and charge my iPad so I can actually talk to you properly next time.”

“There's no getting rid of you, is there?” she teases, and the sound of her laugh is better than any victory celebration.

“Not a chance in hell. I'm like a parasite.

Once I'm attached, I'm yours for life.” I glance at the time, knowing she needs sleep even though every selfish part of me wants to keep her talking until sunrise.

“Now get some rest, Pretty Girl. I'll be home tomorrow afternoon, and I'm already counting down the hours.”

“Me too,” she says, that soft smile evident in her voice. “Good night, Cade.”

“Good night, future Mrs. Bright.”

I close the app and let my phone drop onto the mattress beside me, a ridiculous grin spreading across my face as I stare at the water-stained hotel ceiling.

Tonight I'm going to dream about my fiancée, my future wife, the woman who's going to spend the rest of her life putting up with my obsessive bullshit.

And I couldn't be happier about it.