feel. My mission was to make sure Phoebe understood.
“It’s ok, Phoebe,” Emma said. “I love Zach in a way I never loved Austin. That’s how it should be.”
“I’m sorry,” Phoebe whispered to me.
“I’m sorry,” I added.
“Well, it appears everybody loves everybody around here, but Em and I are out of here. Phoebe, it was good to see you,” Zach whisked Emma off the ground.
“I love you, Zach,” I teased laughing, hoping Phoebe saw the silliness in getting upset.
“Fuck off, Austin and make things right with your girl,” he chuckled with Emma waving over his shoulder.
“I love you both!” Emma shouted.
Phoebe waved as I leaned down and picked up her suitcase. “You coming home with me?”
She nodded. “I need my driver’s license.”
“Is that why you came here?” My brows rose.
“No,” she grinned bashfully.
“Good. Let’s go.”
Back at the house, I closed the door behind her. I didn’t worry about Frank or Joe still out looking for her, I had no doubt they saw us and weren’t far away.
“Did I embarrass you with your friends?”
With my fingers, I navigated the mess of hair away from her face and tucked the curls behind her ears. “Our friends. And don’t be ridiculous. You could never embarrass me.”
Christ. Seeing her made me want to hug her. Hold her. Kiss her. Touch her. Fuck her. I tugged at my hair when I ran my fingers through it fighting for composure.
“We need to talk,” she said softly.
I swallowed. “Yes. I have one preliminary question.”
“Preliminary? You sound like an attorney,” she whispered, glancing at her feet. “What?”
“How was the flight?”
A beautiful smile flitted over her blush colored lips. “My first ever. Frank was very kind. I thought the anxiety of flying was going to kill me before the flight did.”
“I wish I could have been there,” I said softly, truly disappointed I’d missed it. I took her hand, guiding her into the living room where we sat.
“What’s on your mind?” I asked.
I had to think that she didn’t come all this way to say goodbye. The unknown was awful.
“Are you done with us?”
The damn hypnotic freckles and dark green eyes mesmerized me. Fuck, I was screwed every which way possible. I’d do most anything for this girl.
“Listen,” she said as if I wasn’t listening. Trust me, I was all ears.
“I allowed you into my home. Told you about my parents. My family. All of our crazy hang ups. You dealt with my psycho ex. You knew I’d stolen things in my past.” She stood up and knelt in front of me, taking my hands. “I was poorer than dirt and don’t have the best credit mainly because my stupid parents used my name and social security number for things. But,”
Nervously, she licked her lips.
“Never once, did you hold any of those things against me. Never once, did you judge me. You accepted me and loved me through every single thing I just mentioned. And suddenly when I was faced with a decision, I did exactly what I never would have wanted you to do.”
Phoebe’s eyes closed, and I took the opportunity to brush a kiss over her forehead in an attempt to make the crinkles on her forehead relax or better yet go away.
“I’m not sure how to wrap my head around some of the things, but I do know that you never held my parents against me so how can I possibly hold your parents against you.”
“I need you to believe that I have my own job and my own life,” I defended. “At the hands of my parents, comes security though, Phoebe. Someone will always be very close to you. Do you understand that?”
She swallowed. “I want you in my life however that has to happen, Austin. Luck has never played a role in my life, but the day you walked into that Braums, my life changed. I don’t ever want it to change back. I love you.” She kissed my hands and rested her head on my thigh. “You are the forever I’ve only dreamed about. Hell, the forever I was afraid to dream about. And now…now you’re my forever. I can’t tell you I won’t get mad at you over the years. I can’t tell you that I’ll always say the right things. I can’t tell you that I’ll always do the right things. But I can tell you that I will be the most loyal wife and friend for as long as we both shall live.”
The damn adorable nose scrunch only turned me on.
“That