“I want you to know I meant everything.”
“Paige, I —”
The tears gathering in the corners of her eyes stop me short. Looking up, she blinks hard. “I don’t even know why I’m crying like this.” She fans herself. “I’m being so silly.”
“No, you aren’t.” I swallow, gather my courage. “I got it…but I haven’t listened to it yet.”
She starts. “You haven’t?”
“No, I… Look. I have to tell you something first.”
“Okay.” Her voice is shaky.
“I fired Mira.”
“What?
“Yeah. I did.” I forge on, needing to get it all out before my nerves get the best of me. “Nobody can hurt you—or the people you care about—and get away with it.”
“But Ryder…she’s your agent!”
“Yes, and you’re my fiancée. And I told you which one matters more.”
Paige gazes at me, then nods slowly. “So you did. I guess I should start believing you, huh?”
“Yes. Please do believe me.” I get out of my chair and kneel by her side, taking her free hand in both of mine. The skin-to-skin contact feels so good, I close my eyes to savor it for a moment. “I was wrong and stupid all along. You said I didn’t treat you like you were my fiancée, and you were right. I didn’t. I treated you like you were an extra in my movie. I should’ve listened to what you wanted, what was important to you.”
“Ryder…”
“We’re going to elope, just like you wanted. Who gives a shit about putting on a show? I thought I could give you up and find somebody else, but I can’t. I love you. I’ve never said it to any woman before, not even to Lauren. Something always held me back…until you.”
More tears bead in her eyes, and this time she lets them fall. I wipe them away, my fingers clumsy and desperate. I’m worse than Dane. Not even he would make the love of his life cry.
I speak fast. I need to get it all out before she makes her decision. “Paige, we can have a year together, and if you decide that I’m not the one you want, then…” My heart will shrivel and never recover. I lick my lips, which have gone completely dry. “Then you can get rid of me. But until that time comes, give me a chance to earn your love. I’m not as bad as the media says. If you want, we can live here for a year, away from the spotlight and—”
She puts a hand over my mouth.
All the air stills in my body, and I remain frozen. I’m at the edge of a cliff, blindfolded and teetering. Either I’m going to be pushed into the abyss or I’m going to be saved. I just don’t know which option Paige is going to choose.
“If you’d listened to my message, you crazy man, you would’ve known I love you,” she says. “You would’ve known I was waiting for you to come home and that I missed you so much.”
A dam inside me bursts, and I start shaking. It’s as though all the fear and doubt pours out of me, leaving nothing but joy and happiness in their wake.
With a loud whoop, I pull her in for a kiss. She responds immediately, her lips open, her tongue thrusting inside, and her teeth trapping my lower lip so I can’t retreat.
Desire boils my blood even as I cradle Paige’s face in my hands. Our lips are fused, our heartbeats synchronizing. I feel like we’re becoming a single unit that is greater than the sum of two people.
She pulls back and glances at the dinner table. “You think all this will still be okay if we microwave it later?”
“Most definitely.”
A wicked smile splits her face. “Then show me your room.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Paige
Ryder carries me to the second level, his eyes brilliant with desire. I clutch his wide shoulders, feeling the powerful muscles underneath the shirt. I’m almost afraid this is a dream, and I’m going to wake up and find myself alone in my room. My heart beats like it’s going to burst out of my chest, and I kiss him like I want to inhale him so he’ll always be a part of me.