There was a lot there, and all of it made total, if surprising, sense.
But I got stuck on one thing.
And being me, I called him on it.
“I’m not whacked!” I stated (loudly).
“Ally, you been fuckin’ me for a goddamned year, in love with me since the night we met, and pushing me away that whole time. That’s whacked.”
“There were circumstances that led to all that, Zano.”
“And you took your sweet time sharing those with me, and I’ll add, did it in a goddamn motel hours away from home, after rescuing some random damsel in distress who got fucking buried alive that you met on your fuckin’ computer, for God’s sake, and you did it during a fuckin’ drama. Baby, that, all of that, is whacked.”
“Faye’s not random. She’s my friend!” I shouted.
“You met her in person last night!” he shouted back.
“So?” I asked, still shouting.
“Jesus, are we honestly fighting about the fact you’re in love with me?” he asked.
“Words you’ll never hear if you keep up this bossy in your face bullshit, Zano,” I returned (again, loudly).
He scowled at me.
Then he rolled off, shifting to his back in the bed. He lifted his hands to his face and rubbed, muttering under them, “Fuck me.”
I rolled to my side, got up on an elbow and requested to know, “If I try to leave and go find Darius, are you going to pin me to the bed again?”
He removed his hands from his face and locked eyes with me. “Fuck yes.”
“God!” I exclaimed, falling to my back on the bed with a plop.
Within an instant, Ren was looming over me.
His hand came to my jaw and his face dipped close.
I glared.
“I’m in love with you, Ally.”
I stopped glaring and my heart flipped.
“What?” I whispered.
He didn’t repeat himself.
He said something a lot longer and almost (but not quite) as good.
“I knew it could happen when you were cool when I told you about my dad and you wrapped your hand around my thigh. I definitely knew it could happen when you went wild for me on my stairs. Shit went down and it took a while but I knew it did happen when you cried in my arms after Sadie had her thing. Anyone who would feel that badly about being mean and care so deeply about another human being’s fucked up life I knew was the woman for me. You gave me a run for my money, and once I stopped finding it a pain in my ass and started enjoying it, I did nothing but. I enjoyed every fuckin’ second, Ally. And every fuckin’ second I’ve never doubted how I was feeling. And just to be clear, how I was feeling, every day through this game we’ve been playing, was that I was falling deeper in love with you.”
Holy crap.
“Seriously?” I breathed.
“Seriously,” he declared firmly.
I stared up at him, my heart beating hard, my stomach melting, my hands itching to touch him, words getting clogged in my throat.
With effort, I was able to let some out and the ones that came were, “I’ll go to Ava and Luke’s wedding with you.”
When I was done speaking, I watched him close his eyes then watched as he dropped his head so his forehead was against mine.
Whoa.
Wow.
God.
Ren Zano loved me.
I got choked up again and put a hand to his chest, sliding it up to curl around the side of his neck. At the same time I lifted my other hand and wrapped it around his wrist at my jaw.
He lifted his head an inch and opened his beautiful eyes.
And there it was in all its glory.
God.
