Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 145823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
It was the first time I’d felt safe since he’d deployed.
“Tell me you’re okay,” he said against my temple.
I lifted my head and smiled. “I love you.”
His eyes flared wide.
“I love you, Jackson,” I said again, just so he knew I meant it. “I promised myself that the minute the cell service came back up, I’d tell you, but doing it in person is so much better.”
Our mouths met in a kiss, and the world righted itself as his lips moved with mine. It was sweet and desperate all in the same breath.
He yanked back with narrowed eyes. “But you’re okay, right? You’re not hurt?”
“Well, Finley and Vivian were evacuated. Fin was fine, but Vivian’s leg was a disaster, and we didn’t pack her insulin when we fled her house, but I’m assuming they’re okay since Hastings flew them out. How are they?”
“He told me, and we’ll get to that in a second. I’m asking about you.” His eyes raked down my frame.
“Wait…you haven’t seen them yet?”
“I told you that the minute I got off that plane, I was coming for you, remember?”
Mercy, I did, and he’d come for me. My heart didn’t just fly—it soared.
“And I knew they were safe, but you weren’t, so I’m here. Now put me out of my misery and tell me if you’re hurt.” His eyebrows furrowed.
“I’m fine. A little scraped up in places, but nothing to worry about.” My stomach dropped. “Oh, Jackson, your house…”
His mouth set in a firm line. “I know. It was kind of hard to miss as we flew up, but there wasn’t anything in it that can’t be replaced. Except the house itself. That might be a little tricky with the location, but I’m not worried. I was scared shitless about you.” His hands rose to cradle my face. “You came back for Fin.”
“Of course I did. But I also put her in so much danger. We almost didn’t make it in time.” Had I made the right judgment call?
“You saved her life. And Vivian’s. That house, and three more on that block, collapsed. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.” His voice broke.
“You don’t have to thank me.” The thought of what could have happened was enough to weaken my knees. “I only did what you would have.”
“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered, setting his forehead on mine.
“I could say the same exact thing. So why don’t we agree that we deserve each other and go from there?” His neck was warm and strong under my fingers. “I love you, Jackson. And I’m sorry it took me so long to say it.”
“I don’t know if I can stay,” he blurted, stroking his thumbs over my cheeks. “They granted us all emergency leave, but it’s still up in the air if we’ll need to return.”
My belly churned, but I nodded. “Okay. Then we’ll deal with it no matter what they decide.”
He startled. “What changed? Two months ago, that would have put you on the floor.”
“And it still might,” I confessed. “But my love for you is bigger than the fear, and I’ll handle the months you’re gone if it means I get a lifetime of loving you.”
He kissed me hard and quick. “I get it now, and I don’t blame you for telling me to get out months ago. That half hour on the phone with you was fucking terrifying. You were in so much danger, and I couldn’t do shit but sit there and pray.”
I cringed slightly. “I put the rescue above my life, and I’m sorry, but I’m not. I also recognize the irony that I couldn’t keep the very promise you made for me.”
He huffed a laugh. “I knew you were doing it for Finley. You risked your life to save my daughter. I was so furious with you, and yet I’d never loved you more.”
I smiled. “So you do still love me.”
“I love you more than my own life, Morgan. You’re all I want. You, and me, and Finley. For the rest of my life, you’re it. I will spend every day making you impossibly happy, and incredibly aggravated, but I hope the first more than the last, if you’ll have me.”
My heart leaped. “That sounds like a proposal.”
“If I thought I had the barest shot of getting you to agree to marry me, it would be, but I know you’re cautious—”
“Yes,” I blurted.
His eyebrows rose, and his eyes lit up.
“Yes,” I repeated. “I’m done waiting to be happy or looking for the other shoe to drop. I’m done being careful and keeping my heart in a box when it already belongs to you. If anything, the last few days have shown me how quickly it can all vanish, so I’m grabbing onto this.” I slid my hands down to his chest and gripped his flight suit. “Grabbing onto you with both hands and a full heart.”