My heart rate skyrocketed. “What do you mean?”
The smile he gave me had a new fire blazing. It sought out every crack in my heart, melting them until it was formed anew. “Thought that would’ve been obvious, Dom. I’m here to tell you that you’re right.”
I swallowed hard, struggling to keep up. Or perhaps, too afraid to. “I am?”
“Yep.” He reached through the window to cup my jaw. “Don’t look so shocked. You usually are.”
“I’m going to need you to be really fucking clear with me right now,” I said, sounding strangled. “What are you doing here, Shadow?”
“I’m here to tell you that I love you,” Ryan said hoarsely, his eyes shining. “That I’ve always loved you. That I was wrong to walk away from you that night, just as I was wrong to let you walk away from me the other day. Both times, I should’ve appreciated what I had in front of me. Should’ve recognised that you were offering me a happiness I’d never share with anyone else. I’m sorry I didn’t, Dominic.”
“Shadow…” My voice cracked. “You’re choosing me?”
“I chose you a long time ago.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “Just needed a little while to remember it. That’s all.”
“And…you’re not married.”
“Not yet.” His lips curled up in a smile. “Waiting for the right person to ask me.”
That was all I needed to hear. I crushed my mouth tohis. Ryan kissed me back feverishly. I wrapped my arms around him, needing him closer, not on the other side of the window.
It was a good thing I did, because there was an ominous cracking noise.
Ryan pulled back, horror dawning on his face. “Shit. Is that?—”
That was the moment when my father’s ancient porch betrayed us the way Ryan had always feared his mother’s would.
“Fuck,” I barked, bracing my feet against the bottom of the wall. My back strained with the effort of keeping Ryan from falling. “Jesus, Shadow! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he wheezed, laughing as his feet dangled in mid-air. “You can let me go, Dom. A six-foot fall won’t kill me.”
“What the fuck was that?” Frank bellowed from downstairs. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” I yelled back as I heaved Ryan over the windowsill and safely into my room. “Everything’s fine.”
Through the window, we heard the front door open. There was a heartbeat of shocked silence before—“What the fuck did you do to my porch?”
Ryan and I exchanged silly grins before he leaned out the window. “Frank, you can’t be mad at me. I was beingromantic.”
Frank rubbed a hand over the side of his face. It wasn’t enough to conceal his smile. “Sure, but did you have to break my house in the process?”
“It’s worth it in the name of love,” Ryan said, grinning over his shoulder at me.
“We’ll pay to fix it,” I called back. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologise.” Frank wasn’t bothering to hide his happiness now. “You two sorted things out, then?”
Ryan and I exchanged another smile, but it was me who answered. “Yeah, I think we have.”
“Well I’m made up for you,” Frank said. “Seriously.”
“Thanks, Frank,” Ryan said. “But if you don’t want to be traumatised, I’d recommend making yourself scarce for an hour.”
“Two,” I said, tracing my hand along Ryan’s spine. God, I loved how he trembled for me.
Frank attempted to glare at us. He did. “Are you seriously kicking me out of my own house?”
“Yep,” Ryan said cheerfully. “Go and visit my mum. It can be your way of apologising to me for missing the fishing trip.”