CHAPTER SIXTEEN

SADIE

Driving straight from work to Mack’s house, I pound at his door and hope I don’t stink too badly of food or sweat.

Mack looks surprised when he opens the door.

“We need to talk,” I tell him.

He stiffens. “I thought we already did that.”

Yeah, I didn’t think this would be easy. Not with the way we left things yesterday.

“Can I come inside?” I spread my arms and twirl around. “No hidden books, I promise.”

The corners of his mouth twitch, which I take as a promising sign. Even more so when he steps aside and lets me in.

The door is barely closed when I rush at him, flinging my arms around him in a hug. His arms go around me and hold me tight.

Sniffing, I rub my face into his chest, breathing in the clean, male scent of him. “I’m not letting you break up with me,” I declare fiercely into his shirt.

He shifts and pulls back from me. “Say that again, please?”

Looking up into his face, I do as he requests. “I’m not letting you break up with me.”

Shock pulls his face slack. “Break up?”

“Yes. It’s not happening.”

I leave the warmth of his arms and widen my stance. I’m playing for keeps here. “Look, I’m selfish. This caring for someone else business doesn’t come easy for me.” My mouth lifts in a trembling smile. “Except with you.”

Strands of my hair have come undone from my ponytail, and I rake them away from my face. “I overstepped yesterday and I’m sorry. I want to help and show you how much I care and instead I did the opposite by trying to force things on you.”

Mack is silent, his dark hazel eyes trained on me. He’s certainly not making this any easier. I suppose I deserve that.

“The truth is, I care a lot about you, Mack. I-”

Interrupting me he bridges the slight distance between us. “Sadie, I’m sorry too. Sorry that I pushed you away like I did.” He looks away, his body sagging briefly before his gaze meets mine again. “This whole going deaf thing, it changes everything, and I’m scared.”

My heart clenches at his words.

“I’m scared about my life and how I move on with this. I’m also terrified that I finally get a chance to show the perfect woman that I’ve dreamed of how good we can be together and instead I’m falling short.”

It blows me away that he could believe for one minute that he’s falling short.

“Mack, you have to be the nicest and sweetest guy I’ve ever dated!”

His smile is sad. “But I’m less now-”

I cut him off. I refuse to let this nonsense go on for another second. “Only in your own mind! Nobody else thinks that. You are head and shoulders above other men, and I don’t just mean your size.”

Grabbing his hands, I hold them tenderly. “You seem to think so highly of me. Give yourself some credit too.” I grin. “I love you and that means you’re amazing going by your logic, right?”

“You love me?” he booms.

Feeling vulnerable, it’s hard to meet his eyes. “Yes, I love you.” Bending my middle and ring finger down, I give him the ‘I love you’ sign that’s pretty much universally known.

Joy explodes on Mack’s face, his smile wider than I’ve ever seen before. “I love you!” he declares, squeezing my hands. “I’ve loved you for so long.”

The words I’ve longed to hear are far sweeter than I ever dared hoped.

“I wish we would have connected sooner,” I say wistfully. “I don’t think we were ready then. At least I wasn’t.”

Nodding, Mack releases my hands. “No, we probably weren’t. I’m ready now, though. I’m also ready to face my hearing loss and see what I can do to improve it. For me, for you, and for us. I want to hear your voice and never miss a single thing you ever say.”

“Oh Mack.” I throw my arms around him, hugging him and trying desperately to kiss him. In my work shoes, even on my tiptoes, I’m too short.

Mack meets me more than halfway, his mouth connecting with mine in a kiss full of love and hope.

We may not have been officially matched, but it’s obvious we were met to be.