Rocked (The Everyday Heroes World) - Julia Wolf Page 0,101
was on mine.
In one of the dumbest ideas I’d ever had, I found a loose rock on the ground and threw it at Kat’s window. Lucky for me, she didn’t own a gun, because the second the rock made contact with glass, I realized I was probably going to scare the shit out of her, a shadowy figure lurking in her backyard.
Her curtains fluttered open, and I shined the light from my phone on my face. Again, I probably looked creepy as fuck, but hopefully she could tell it was me and not some random maniac on the loose. Just a maniac she knew.
She pushed her window up. “Devon? What the hell?”
“Come out. I want to tell you something.”
“It can’t wait until tomorrow?”
“No. Come out, Lady.”
She heaved a sigh, then shut her window and closed the curtains. I didn’t know if that sigh meant yes or no, but I waited on her patio anyway.
A few minutes later, she stepped outside, bundled in a too-big hoodie, sweatpants, and thick, fuzzy socks. She’d dressed for warmth—and probably to protect herself from my wandering eyes. Joke was on her; I found her fucking adorable. If I could have had her curled up in my lap to snuggle, I’d have been the happiest man on the planet.
That didn’t happen, of course.
She stood a good five feet away from me, her hands tucked in the pocket of her hoodie. “Talk.”
“I didn’t say the real reason I’m back,” I said.
Her head canted to the side. “Oh?”
“You, Kat. I’m back because you’re here.”
Her dark brows pulled together. “What?”
“I happen to really like where you live, so I guess I’m lucky. But if you decided to up and move to the sun, I’d figure out how to deal with the heat. I’m in love with you, and I’m hoping maybe you have some warm feelings toward me. Maybe we can figure out this life together.”
She sucked in a deep breath, her expression giving nothing away. “I...um—what?”
I had to laugh. I’d never seen her so flustered. “I love you, Kat. I’m here for you.”
Her gaze shifted to the black sky behind me, her shoulders pulling forward, like she was trying to curl into herself. “I don’t know what to say, Devon.”
“You really don’t have to say anything tonight. Not if you don’t want to. I know it’s midnight, and I’m kind of springing this all on you.”
She rubbed her eyebrow, a frown pulling down the edges of her mouth. “I told you not to fall in love with me.”
My chest squeezed tight. Those weren’t the words I wanted to hear. “Guess I don’t like doing what I’m told.” I took a step toward her. “Are you telling me I’m all alone here?”
She rubbed her lips together. “I’m not sure. You’ve obviously been thinking about this while I’ve just been pissed off at you. I wasn’t even certain I had the right to be. The last thing I ever expected was for you to show up and ask for a life with me.”
I took another step, gratified she didn’t back away. Her gaze was wary, her body still tucked in a protective stance, but she made no move to escape my advance.
“You have the right to be pissed.” Another step. “We might’ve said we were only pretending. We might’ve tried to fool ourselves into believing we were just friends who screwed. The thing is, we both knew that was a lie.”
She tipped her head back to blink up at me. “So, how could you only want to see me every couple months? How did that even leave your mouth?”
She was within reach, so I slipped my hand into the pocket of her sweatshirt, tangling my fingers with hers. “I’m not ashamed to say I was scared. And to tell the truth, I didn’t believe I deserved more. I thought maybe, if I could find a way to cause minimal disruption in your life, you’d keep me around.” I slid my free hand behind her neck, rubbing the corner of her jaw with my thumb. “Would you have asked me to stay?”
The shake of her head was subtle, but clear. “No. I didn’t think I could.”
“The thing is, you could ask for anything, and I’d find a way to give it to you.”
She sucked in a breath. “Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. This is big. At least for me. Before I came to town, I was ready to reshape my life. In my head, that was rebuilding a crumbling career and getting back into