All Consuming (Brotherhood by Fire #3) -Jaci Burton Page 0,102
bacon. “Okay.”
If she wanted this to work out, she was going to have to tell him the truth, to pour her heart out. “I was scared, Kal. And upset.”
“Upset with me?”
“No. I was upset that Landon hadn’t called like he’d promised. And scared about letting you fully in, into thinking about having a future with you when I’d messed up so badly the first time. And I know you’re nothing like Landon, but I had all these plans for my future, about how I was going to save money, and buy my own house, and Oliver and I were going to be independent and do everything on our own, you know?”
He put bacon and eggs on a plate, then went to the fridge and grabbed a container that had some melon in it. Then he poured juice into two glasses. “Let’s go sit at the table.”
They took their plates and glasses to the table.
He ate, and she pushed her fork around the plate and managed to eat a couple of bites of fruit and a forkful of eggs.
“So I came into your life and fucked it all up,” he finally said. “Is that what you’re saying?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s coming out all wrong. I was just scared when you took me to the house. Because the house was perfect. You were perfect, and everything was coming together so well. But it wasn’t my dream, you know?”
He laid his fork down. “I know. And I’m sorry about that. I pushed you too hard, too fast, and that was my fault. You weren’t ready for everything that I wanted. And that’s on me. I’m sorry.”
He was apologizing? Why was he saying sorry? This wasn’t going like she had thought. “Wait. You have nothing to be sorry about, Kal. I’m the one who screwed up. I’m the one who pushed you away. It wasn’t what I wanted.”
“It wasn’t?”
“No. I’m crazy in love with you. After you left, I was devastated. And angry. With myself, for letting you go. My plans are stupid.”
His lips curved. “Being an independent woman is not stupid, Hannah. I admire you for everything you’ve done to carve out the life you have for you and for Oliver. I didn’t mean to get in the way of that, but I can’t help that I fell in love with you. That I love Oliver as if he’s my own.”
Her heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst. “I love you, Kal. I’ve loved you since I was fourteen years old. I don’t know that I ever stopped loving you. Only now it’s a different kind of love. It’s deeper. The forever kind. I don’t want to lose you.”
He pushed his chair back and stood, then pulled her out of the chair and kissed her, the kind of kiss that a woman could feel all the way to her soul. When he drew back, he smoothed her hair away from her face. “I love you, Hannah. And whatever plans you want to make for our future, in whatever timetable you want to make them, I’m on board for it.”
For the first time in . . . forever, she felt a sense of peace. That this felt right, that she was home in the arms of the man she knew she could spend the rest of her life with.
“How about we make those plans together?” she asked.
He smiled down at her, and she lost herself in that look of warmth and love in his eyes.
“I like that idea a lot.”
She laid her head on his chest and knew that right here was all she would ever need.
EPILOGUE
TWO YEARS LATER
KAL SNUCK INTO THE KITCHEN TO GRAB A BEER, THEN turned to watch the melee that was his living room.
This place was a madhouse.
Then again, that’s how the Donovans rolled. Especially these days when they all got together as a family. It was general mayhem and he loved it.
Kal was glad that he and Hannah had talked it out and agreed on a bigger house. Not only did they want to have more kids soon, but they knew they were going to need a lot of space whenever the whole family came over. So the oversize family room had been the best choice. Not that they hadn’t argued about houses for at least three months before they’d decided on this one. And, okay, this one had been Hannah’s favorite. Oliver loved the pool out back, plus there was plenty of yard space