he knew they were true. “Your love.”
“Hey, that’s easy. Don’t you know you already have it? So it’s all good. Right?”
The little throaty sound of relief that escaped her as he spoke was the sexiest thing he’d ever heard. Her fingers clenched tighter around the back of his neck, and he dropped his forehead to hers. “I do love you, Macy. I love you.” His lips captured hers. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Given the tears that slipped from her eyes then, he wondered if maybe those words had been a burden on her for a long time. He’d been such a fucking idiot. But whatever else happened, those little words would keep him going forever. Whatever else happened, for at least one moment in his life, Macy had loved him. But he would do his damnedest to turn the moment into a lifetime. He smiled down at her. “Well, don’t cry about it.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well…you know.” Macy watched him as he flipped on the blinker to turn into her parents’ driveway. The desire to touch him, squeeze his hand, reassure him in some way, was overwhelming. She rubbed her damp palms on her jeans instead. What was she so nervous for? It was just her parents. He was the one under the gun. But…still. Oh God. She hoped this went well. This had to go well.
Not because she was eager to please her folks. Not because if they didn’t like him, she would have to give him up. Never in a million years. They weren’t like that, anyway, despite what stupid Jared might think.
What she wanted—the ridiculously sappy daydream she’d allowed to play in her head over and over the past few weeks—was for them to welcome him in, love him, be as close as possible to the parents he’d lost all those years ago. Her mom had the capacity to mother anyone, really, but her dad, despite his words the other day, might be a harder sale.
“I’m fine. Any last-minute tips for me?” he asked, and she wondered if his barely creeping up the long driveway was just a method to put off the inevitable. “I’ve never, like, met the parents before.”
If he was nervous at all, he really didn’t show it. She was more nervous than he was. And the most common thing to say in these situations was probably, Oh, just be yourself, but she wasn’t sure that was exactly the best advice, at least not for the first meeting. Maybe for, oh, the twenty-seventh or so. She loved him the way he was, but…
Giving in, she reached over to put her hand on his. “As far as my dad, he’ll talk your ear off, and all you need to do is give an enthusiastic grunt every now and then. Mom’s a little harder. She’ll ask a million questions. I already gave her the primer, though.”
“Cool. Wow,” he added as he steered around a curve and her parents’ rambling house came into view. “Nice spread.”
“If you keep on going instead of taking the circular, you’ll end up at the barn. I’ll have to show you later. You can meet my horses.”
“As long as—”
“You don’t have to get on one, I know,” she finished for him, laughing. He pulled into the circular driveway, whistling at the sight of the large fountain in the center of the greenery. Macy tried to imagine seeing all of this for the first time. She’d grown up here, so it was simply home to her, but yes, it was quite beautiful. The yellow jessamine was blooming on the archway leading to the garden, and the Chinese fringe shrubs were an explosion of fuchsia.
“Ready?” she asked as he braked. The front door of the house opened, and her mom stepped out, smiling. She must be too excited to wait.
Here we go.
They might be put off a little at first, but eventually, they would love him.
“As I’ll ever be. Don’t touch the door.”
She’d been about to do just that. “Oh, going in for the kill,” she kidded.
“I always open your doors, killjoy.” He winked at her, and she melted. She’d been doing a lot of that lately. From his touch. From the way he looked at her. As he popped open his door to get out, she grasped his arm, stopping him.
“What is it?”
“I want you to know none of this matters. My parents or what they think…what anyone thinks. You started to ask me about it the other day,