Fake Boyfriend - Miley Maine Page 0,69

relationship, not just a fake one.”

“When did you decide that? And why is this the first time I'm hearing about it?” I asked.

“When that loser Douglas was waving his gun around and pulled the trigger. That’s when I knew.”

“During all that chaos?” I asked.

“Right in the middle of It. He pulled the trigger on purpose, and as soon as the shot blasted out and hit the wall, all I could think about was you. I kept thinking that I was so close to losing you right in front of my own eyes, and it would have ruined me.” He took a long breath. “But I realized I wanted more than just knowing I saved you. I wanted you around for me too. Because I love you.”

Wow. Stunned, I sat there without speaking for a minute. That may have been the most words I’d ever heard Jackson say at one time.

“But there’s no pressure on you to return the interest.” He ran his fingers through my hair that was ratty from riding the four-wheeler yesterday, and then not brushing it out after all the pandemonium of the night. “You’re young. If you want to stay friends, that works for me too. And I will always come if you need me.” He put his big hands on my cheeks. “If I’m not in the country to help you, then I’ll call someone who is.”

I bounced up onto my knees. “Are you insane?”

“What do you mean?”

“Of course I return the interest!” I jumped on top of him, and luckily his reflexes were so fast that he caught me mid air. “I love you too.” I stuck my face in his neck. “So much.”

His arms came up around me, and I started babbling. “I’m really sorry about what I said at the wedding. About you being paranoid. It was awful, and so was the part where I threatened to have you kicked out. I wouldn’t have done it, and I regretted it as soon as I said it.”

I could feel his rumbling laugh in his chest. “I appreciate that. But I had no intention of leaving.” He gave me a half smile.

“I’m glad. I think it’s obvious that I needed you there.”

“You did do pretty good for yourself. I was really impressed at how quickly you got those ropes off,” he said.

“I'll be honest, I was pretty impressed with myself.” I put my hands on his face. I rubbed my palms over the scruff of his beard. “I was trying so hard to be independent that I didn’t consider your perspective.”

“These kinds of disagreements happen to everyone. We can work them out assuming that you want to keep dating.”

“Does this mean you're not my fake boyfriend anymore?” I asked.

“Yep. That’s exactly what it means. I’m your real boyfriend now.”

“I know I’ve been a total jerk at times. But if we’re going to date, I need to know you won’t shut me out again, like you did with the stuff about Douglas in the car. I need you to discuss things with me in the future, not just tell me what to do without an explanation,” I said, hoping we’d learn to understand each other over time.

“I’ll never do that again.” He kissed my nose. “But I need you to really listen to me, and not just dismiss what I say as paranoia.”

“I won’t. I promise,” I said.

I was willing to try anything if it meant that we could try and make this relationship work.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jackson

Once we’d finished talking last night, we both slept hard until eight a.m. Loren rolled into my chest. “Mmm. Warm,” she said.

Without really considering how it would sound to her, I asked her, “Do you think you can handle the military lifestyle long term?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Shit. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. It was just too soon to tell her that. Maybe it was too soon to even know that for sure. But at thirty-six years old, I wasn’t going to change my mind. Loren was it for me. I loved her; she was my ray of sunshine. And I wanted to hold onto her.

I wasn’t sure how a relationship between us would work with my frequent deployments. Some partners enjoyed the time alone, but it drove some crazy, especially once they had kids. Not that I was anywhere close to having kids, and I assumed Loren wanted to wait a long time.

“We talked about having a real relationship. If you want