Chapter 34

The soft kiss on the back of my hand is seared into my skin.

And that pulsing sensation that skates over my flesh for the next five minutes distracts me for the remainder of the drive.

I barely feel the centripetal forces pulling on my body as we wind our way to the top of a hill, barely notice the rusted metal gate that's pushed to the side, thus allowing us to keep driving up.

I don't notice much of anything—aside from that feel of King's mouth on me—until we slide to a stop and he turns off the engine.

Then…

I notice everything.

Shamrock-colored hills spreading out in all directions, large dark green oaks dotting them in irregular intervals, and a bright blue sky filled with floofy, cotton candy-like clouds floating slowly across the horizon.

"Come here," he murmurs, taking my hand and drawing me to the side, up along a shaded path.

"Where are we going?" I ask as we walk under the canopy of leaves, our shadows mixing with the dappled sunshine.

He slips his hand from mine, wraps his arm around my shoulders, tucking me close, enveloping me in the warmth of his body, the spice of his scent. My soul immediately settles.

"Wait just a little longer, princess," he says softly. "Please?"

I nod, whisper, "Okay." And maybe it's not so much that my soul is settling, but rather that it expands a little, as though the tendrils between us are growing, leaving my body, drifting over, clinging to the edges of him.

Wanting to feel him.

Wanting to sew him into my being.

Wow…that's not creepy at all.

Which is easier to think about than the fact that?—

I want this to be forever.

I clamp my eyes closed.

Which is not a smart thing to do on a path filled with rocks and random tree roots.

Because, yup, I promptly trip.

But I barely move, barely have the sensation of falling before I'm held even more tightly.

Kept safe.

Protected.

"Easy now, princess," he murmurs, stroking a finger down my cheek, seeming to wait for me to open my eyes.

And when I do, I'm dropped into deep blue pools.

Beautiful man.

"I don't want this to be fake," I blurt.

Horror floods through me.

Because…

I. Just. Said. That.

He stills, and I wait for him to drop his hand, for him to set me away from him.

But…

He doesn't.

Instead, he says the most wonderful thing.

"I don't think it's been fake from the moment I picked you up from the side of the road."

My heart skips a beat, words stoppering up in my throat. "But—" Then I clamp my teeth together, bite back the words that will make me sound like even more of an idiot.

He doesn't let them stay buried, though.

Of course not.

"What?" he asks.

I nibble at the corner of my mouth. "I?—"

Ignore it. Pretend I hadn't heard it. Be happy with him admitting this isn't fake.

That's incredible.

Wonderful—

All of a sudden I'm pressed back against the trunk of a tree, pinned carefully between King's big body and the bark, his hands cushioning my head and back from the roughness. He bends, puts his face in front of mine. "What, princess?"

I inhale, debate for a second.

Then figure…what the hell.

"I heard you on the phone, King," I say. "It's okay." I shrug. "You don't have to protect my feelings, I swear. I'm a big girl. It's time that I move on and get my feet under me and?—"

His lips hit mine, stealing my breath in a kiss that leaves my heart racing. "What the fuck are you talking about, baby?" he asks again.

"I overheard you."

His brows drag together. "When?"

"In the kitchen the other day," I murmur. "I heard you on the phone with someone and you were talking about me." I grind my teeth together. "Talking about us."

That frown stays in place.

"And you said we were fake."

His expression smooths out and then he's pushing back, taking my hand again, drawing me back up the path. "My brother," he says. "I told you his wife cheated on him and left him with the kids." A glance over at me and I nod, completely befuddled at his change in demeanor, that he's relaxed now. But then he goes on, "Jakob's not exactly seeing straight when it comes to women right now." A breath moving through that big body of his. "And I lied to him so I didn't have to listen to him rant." Another look. "And because I didn't want to deal with what I was feeling." His fingers squeeze mine. "What I am feeling."

"King—"

"It's scary," he says, drawing me out into the sunshine and toward a bench.

I'm struck by the beauty of the valley in the distance, the beauty of his eyes as they meet mine.

"It's scary and after what happened with my ex, after every fear of mine was validated—I'm not good enough, I'll never be good enough—" He sits, drawing me down next to him. "But that fear is smaller than the fear of losing what you bring to my life."

I shake my head. "I haven't done anything, honey. I'm just?—"

"You made me feel," he says, cupping my cheeks in his big, warm hands. "You made me realize that there's more that I want. That there's more I can have. But I think"—he shifts, pressing his forehead to mine—"I knew that from the moment I met you. It's why I pushed your buttons so much. I was desperate to find something wrong with you."

My heart lurches in my chest, throwing itself against my rib cage.

Throwing itself at this man.

Offering itself up on a silver platter.

"King," I whisper.

His mouth hitches up. "I know," he says softly, straightening slowly and reaching into his pocket. "I was delusional to even think that this was something else, that it was fake, that it might mean nothing. I'm clearly a dumbass." He pulls his hands out. "Because I bought this weeks ago after Zeus ate?—"

"My bracelet," I whisper.

"I know it's not the same," he says. "I just…" He takes my hand, peels open my fingers, then places the new charm bracelet gently in my palm. "I thought it might be something to remind you of the good your dad gave you."

The beautiful view is hidden behind my tears.

Yup. I'm a sap and sobbing through this moment is likely ruining it.

But I can't help it as I turn my bleary eyes to the thin silver chain of the bracelet.

"The clasp is reinforced so it should withstand any persistent pups," he says softly, gently lifting it from my palm and showing me the clip. "And the charms aren't wooden but they're?—"

"Perfect," I whisper, touching a finger to each of the charms in turn.

Big Ben. The Eiffel Tower. A koala. The Colosseum. A boat.

The Golden Gate Bridge.

All of the charms from my father.

And new ones.

A dog bone.

A crown.

A hockey stick.

And a…cactus.

The laughter that bubbles up and out of my throat is watery, and the tears that slide down my cheeks are hot and copious and drip off my chin.

"Shit," King mutters, drawing me close. "I'm sorry, princess. I didn't mean to make you sad."

"Sad?" I ask, eyes still leaking but vision clear enough to see his face, to see this beautiful man. "No one has ever done anything this nice for me."

His chest inflates on a breath, worry dragging over his features.

And I find myself desperate to take it from him, to make him smile, to make him see. "I'm touched, King. Beyond words." My mouth curves. "And that's coming from a woman with Jean-Michel Dubois as my fairy godmother."

"Godfather," he says.

"What?"

"I've been calling him your fairy godfather because he's scary as shit, but he's worked magic in your life."

Magic, yes.

And I'm so freaking grateful for it, for him.

But not as much magic as the man in front of me has sprinkled over my life.

"Fairy Godfather." I tap my bottom lip. "I like that. Maybe I'll get him a T-shirt printed with it."

King grins, says dryly, "I'm sure he'd love that."

I smile back at him, heart full because…he sees me, he wants me. This…

Isn't fake.

"He'd wear it to all his board meetings," I quip.

Laughter in the air and then King sobers, touches my cheek again. "I'm sorry I made you cry."

"I'm not," I say, covering his hand with my own.

"My beautiful non-prickly princess." A kiss to my forehead. "Can I put it on you?"

I nod, holding my breath as he wraps the bracelet around my wrist and fastens it. Because this feels bigger than the ring somehow, bigger than anything that's come before.

Be brave and kind.

And when he presses his lips to my wrist, just above the bracelet, the words…just come out?—

No planning. Just blurting.

Just some small part of me hoping that the universe won't take this away.

Because this moment, this man…

I need to say it.

"I love you," I whisper, watching the shock flash across his face, tangle with renewed worry. "I know it's scary. I know it's too soon and that it complicates everything and?—"

He sweeps me up against him, drops his head so that his mouth is a millimeter away from mine. "You are fucking perfect."

And then he's kissing me.

And then he's giving me something that I know I'll never, ever forget.

"I love you so fucking much."