She stopped what she was doing and eyed me curiously for a moment. “Is it something we should be sitting down for . . . or maybe not setting up for the party tonight?”
I laughed awkwardly and tossed the package of paper plates I was holding down on the counter. “Neither . . . I think. I’m not sure.” Rolling my eyes, I leaned on the counter on my forearms and just started talking. “Kash and I were supposed to have gotten married a week ago tomorrow. Neither of us said a word about it when the day came and went, because at the time, well we were working through a lot at the time. And I think for both of us, it was hard thinking that it was another thing that had changed in our lives, or wasn’t going the way we had planned, because of what happened.”
“He told us you overheard the conversation the night you came back. I hope you don’t think he doesn’t want to marry you, Rachel. He was confused and hurt, but he—”
“No, I don’t think he doesn’t want to marry me. I mean, I did . . . but, I don’t anymore.” I pressed the tips of my fingers into my temple and shook my head. “He and I already went through that, I understand all that now. But what I’m getting at today . . . is that I was kind of hoping you would help me. I think he’s waiting for me. Waiting for me to be ready, waiting for me to bring it up, just waiting for me to let him know I’m ready to move forward with our lives again.”
Marcy’s lips kept tilting up like she was trying to contain her smile, but she wasn’t saying anything yet.
“Will you help me think of a fun way to tell him I’m ready?”
“Yes! Yes, yes, of course I will!”
“Okay!” I straightened up and drummed my hands on the granite countertop. “I want some ideas from you, but I was wondering . . . while I was gone, did you ever go pick up my wedding dress, and do you have it here?”
Marcy’s face lit up with a massive smile before she turned and took off, leaving the kitchen.
I’ll take that as a yes to both.
We spent the next few hours thinking up ideas and taking pictures, running back to the store to use the one-hour print, and then back to my house to set them up. Kash wouldn’t be going back there between then and the party anyway, so he wouldn’t see it until we got home that night.
By the time we got back to Richard and Marcy’s, we were running around, trying to set up for the party and getting all the food ready. I had so much adrenaline running through me that the setup seemed to fly by, and by the time Kash’s extended family began showing up, I was already wanting it to be over. I was anxious to get Kash back to our place and see his reaction.
After an hour and a half of the party and Kash’s fun-loving family—which had been graciously avoiding asking questions about my time away—my desire to get back home and my need to see Kash’s reaction . . . all faded away.
Kash walked into the living room, and after searching for me, he walked over to me with purpose, and the most scorching gaze I’ve ever seen from him as his eyes raked slowly over my body. Wrapping an arm around my waist, he pulled me close and pressed his lips firmly to mine for long seconds before giving me another quick kiss and leaning back.
“Well, hi,” I said breathily. For a second I wondered if he had gone back to the house and had already seen everything. But I still felt light-headed from what should have been a simple kiss, so I focused on breathing normally and the feel of his heart racing beneath my palm.
He toyed with his lip ring as he studied me. “I have something for you, sweetheart.”
“Do you now?”
“I do. You wanna come outside with me for a minute?”
I eyed him and asked softly, “Do you really have something for me outside, or is this your attempt to save me from your thousands of cousins?”
A loud, awkward laugh left him, and he kissed my forehead as he grabbed my hand. “Uh . . . you just need to see this.”
Vague. I let him lead me outside and smiled when I saw Mason standing out on the front lawn. “Wow, you’re giving me Mason? I’m pretty sure this is the best gift ever.”
Kash stopped walking and growled, and Mason burst out laughing. Elbowing Kash’s side, I urged him to keep walking, and rolled my eyes when he wouldn’t. “Oh, you know I’m joking. Show me whatever it is you brought me out here for.”
“Mase?” Kash prompted softly.
Mason pulled out his phone and made a call. As he did, Kash turned me toward him and brought me in for a lingering kiss.
“If you need anything, we’ll be right inside, okay?”
I pulled back and looked back and forth between him and Mason. Both wore matching looks of understanding mixed with fear. “Wait, what? Why are you leaving?”
“Trust me on this,” he crooned and ran a soothing hand up and down my back. “I need you to know, Rachel. No matter what happens, I just want you to be happy.”
“Happy? Kash, what’s going on?”
“Just know that I’ll always love you.”
As soon as he released me, Mason picked me up in a big hug before setting me back down and following Kash into the house. Leaving me out in the dark alone. There were dozens of people just inside the house, and tons of other houses on the street, but I suddenly felt very alone and terrified.
I didn’t understand Kash’s cryptic words. And now I was second-guessing the way he’d been acting this morning before he’d left.
My body stilled when I heard someone walking up the grass behind me, and when I turned to see who they’d left me with, I understood why Kash had taken me away from everyone. Because as soon as I saw him, I burst into tears and ran up to him, launching myself at his large frame.
Trent caught me easily, and held me close to him for long minutes before releasing me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked through my tears and grabbed his arm. I needed to know that he was actually here, that I wasn’t dreaming all this. “How did you get out of prison?”
“With your testimony, and with the help of your fiancé, his partner, and their chief, the charges against me were dropped.”
A sob broke free from my throat, and I slapped a hand over my mouth as I continued to cry. Trent reached forward and cupped my cheeks in his hands, his thumbs brushing away tears. “Are you serious?” I finally managed to ask.
“Yeah, Rach, I am.”
“I’m so happy for you! This is all I wanted for you . . . to have another chance at life.” Throwing myself into his arms again, I wrapped my arms around his waist and cried into his chest. “God, Trent, I’m so happy for you. I’ve missed you.” Remembering last night, I stepped back and tried to glare at him. It didn’t hold. “I wish I had my journal, I really wanted to slap you with it.”
His eyebrows pinched together, and he laughed softly. “Why?”
“I read your letter, Trent.” Understanding flashed through his eyes, and I continued. “I hate that you view yourself like that. You deserve everything, you have to know that. You deserve an amazing life, you deserve an amazing woman. And now you get to experience all that!”
Trent licked his lips, and his dark eyes searched my face, before looking up at the house. “That’s something I’m supposed to talk to you about, Rachel.” With a deep breath, he turned and pointed at a black SUV parked on the street. “That car is about to take me to my new life. I don’t know where I’m going, but Kash arranged for me to be completely protected when I got out.”
I frowned as I tried to understand what he was saying. “You’re going into witness protection?” I asked on a whisper. When he nodded, I felt like crying again. “Why can’t you stay here?”
“It’s not safe for me here, and you know that.”
I did know that. But now that he was out, I wasn’t ready for him to be gone . . . I knew when he left this time, there would be no seeing him again. I wasn’t ready for that.
“I shouldn’t have been allowed to come see you at all, but that was another thing Kash arranged.” Taking my hand, he pulled me close and looked at me for a long moment be
fore speaking again. “Rachel, he’s giving you the choice to go with me.”
My brow furrowed, and I shook my head in confusion. “I don’t—like Kash and me go with you?” When Trent shook his head slowly, I grasped what he was saying . . . and my chest tore open. “Just me,” I stated. It was no longer a question.
Some small part of me hated that Kash was still questioning my feelings. My mind kept screaming, He just said last night he wouldn’t let me go for anything! But, if I was being honest with myself, I knew that wasn’t what this was . . . he was making sure I knew what I wanted . . . and giving me the option to have that.
I loved him. I loved how selfless he was.
“Trent, I will never forget you, and I will never forget everything you did for me. I owe you everything. I know how you feel for me; to be honest, I’ve had an idea since before I got out of that house. And I’m so sorry if I ever led you to believe anything different, but I love Kash. I’ll always love Kash.”
Trent cleared his throat, and looked away quickly when his dark eyes filled with pain.
“I hate that after finally knowing you’re safe from those men, you’re going to be leaving me. But I’ve only ever viewed you as a friend, and protector. I’m sorry.”
“I know. I knew even when I kissed you that your heart belonged to him. I’ve never loved anyone until I met you, Rachel, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over you.”
“You’ll find someone, I know you will. You have so much to give to someone, and whoever she ends up being, she will be incredibly lucky to have you.”
He watched me for a few seconds with a sad smile as he cupped one side of my face. “I’ll never forget you.”
More tears fell down my cheeks as I admitted, “I’ll never forget you either, Trent Cruz.”
With a kiss to my forehead, he released me and took a few steps back and looked over at the dark SUV. A few seconds later, it started up and pulled into the driveway, and soon Kash and Mason were joining us.
Turning to look at my fiancé, I noticed the tears in his eyes as he stepped up to me. “No matter what you decide, I’ll always love you. I just want you to be happy.”
Grabbing his hand, I stepped close and placed a hand over his racing heart. “You are what makes me happy. I can’t live a life that you’re not in, Kash. I’ve already tried it once before, it didn’t work.”
A deep exhale left him, and he pulled me close to his body.
“Thank you,” Trent’s deep voice sounded behind us, and I turned to see him holding out his hand, which Kash shook. “For everything. What you did means more to me than you could possibly know. So . . . just, thank you.”
Kash nodded and released his hand. “Take care of yourself.”
After Trent and Mason exchanged a similar good-bye, he turned back to me, and much like I had earlier, I launched myself at him. Hugging him tight once, I stepped back and wiped away tears.
“Never forget you, Rachel,” he said again, and I gave him a shaky smile.
“I’ll miss you.”
And then he was turning and walking toward the SUV, and driving out of my life forever. My chest ached at a different kind of loss for Trent than the one I’d been dreading, but I was so happy for him.
Once the taillights had faded, I turned to Kash and punched his shoulder. “You can’t get rid of me that easy! Don’t you understand that I love—”
His lips cut me off, and I moaned into his mouth as we shared a kiss to rival every other one we’ve ever shared.
“I had to give you the choice,” he whispered when we pulled away, our breathing ragged.
“I know, and I love you that much more for it. But it’s you, Kash. Like I told Trent, it will always be you.”
He kissed me thoroughly again and repeated his words from last night. “It’s you and me, Rach. Always.”
“Always,” I agreed.
Kash
MASON STOPPED TALKING and nudged my arm before nodding toward Rachel. Turning my head, I looked down at her lying in between my legs asleep. One of her arms was hanging over my leg, and her body was still turned toward Mason from when they’d been talking.
After everything that had gone down tonight, she was still here . . . with me.
Mason and I had been working on getting Trent into witness protection for almost two weeks. Because of his background, and his involvement with Rachel’s kidnapping, it took time to get his charges dropped so we could move forward. But I’d known for a few days now that it could happen at any time. I’d wondered how to tell Rachel, and a part of me was afraid of how she’d react if she knew I’d done it all behind her back and Trent was already gone, but then Chief had given me the journal.
Before Rachel had been taken, I’d vowed to always look for signs that she was struggling with something . . . anything. It wasn’t hard to know she’d been hurting since she came back, and after reading Trent’s letter to her, I’d known what I had to do. As much as it killed me to think of Rachel choosing him, and as much as we’d progressed, I knew he was constantly on her mind. And though I didn’t doubt her feelings for me, I couldn’t deny that there was something for him too. It was the last thing I wanted, but if it was what she needed, I’d known I had to be strong for both of us . . . and let her go.
I’d almost changed my mind after reading Rachel’s letter to me, though. I’d woken up early this morning and watched her while she slept, and was trying to convince myself that I would gladly take her anger if it meant keeping her. But then I’d gotten the call that Trent was getting out, and going to be leaving today, and I knew in that moment that just because I wanted her for myself, didn’t mean I could take away her option to choose.
Mason had had to stop me from walking back outside the entire time Trent and Rachel were out there, and when he’d gotten the call from the detective that would be taking him to a waiting jet, everything switched. I wasn’t ready to know what her answer was, but Mason had practically shoved me out of the house and walked me down the lawn to go talk with them.
I’d been afraid her constant thinking about him had been a sign that even with her denying them, she had stronger feelings for Trent than maybe she even knew. It wasn’t until I asked her not long after he left that she told me she knew he would die in jail, and she’d been struggling with the guilt that she couldn’t help Trent like he’d helped her.
Ever since, Rachel hadn’t left my side, and this was the most I’d seen her smile in the three weeks since I’d gotten her back. And I was so damn glad for it.
I smiled at Mason and bent to kiss the top of Rachel’s head. “You ready to call it a night?” I asked Mason quietly.
“Yeah, it’s late.” Just as I began to move, he asked, “Did you think we’d be here?”
“What do you mean?”
“A little over a year ago we were in a bare apartment in Texas, and you were telling me not to go bang the hot neighbor because it would mess with the case. I’d called your bullshit that day. I told you if either of us had to be careful, it was you. And now, here we are. Back in Florida, you’re engaged to Rachel; Candice will be here in a week, and we’ll be in the same place we’ve always been.”
I laughed at the memory, but something close to terror still slid through my veins at how right Mason and I had both been. Our jobs had been dangerous, for Rachel. We’d been proven right too many times already on that. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her body closer to mine when Mason repeated himself.
“So that day, did you think we’d be here?”
“You know, I think even then I did. I knew there was something different about her from that first moment. I knew it, and you could see it too. I couldn’t see this at that time . . . but I think I knew we would be here.”
“I’m happy for you, man. You deserve this. You deserve her.”
The corners of my mouth tilted up in a smile and I looked back over at him. “Thanks, Mase.”
He just nodded before clearing his throat. “Let’s ge
t her to a bed, yeah?”
“Yeah.” I pressed my lips to Rachel’s neck and spoke softly in her ear as I let my fingers trail up and down her arms. “Wake up, Sour Patch. Time to go home.”
She groaned and turned in my arms, but went right back to sleep.
“Rachel, come on, babe. Let me take you home.”
Her only response was to nod her head and let it drop into my chest. I laughed and scooped her up before getting my legs beneath me, and standing with her in my arms.
“See you tomorrow?” I asked Mason. At his nod, I walked over to where my parents were talking with some of their friends and said good night before getting Rachel into my truck.
About halfway home, Rachel slowly started waking up.
“Where we going?” she mumbled.
“We’re going home, you fell asleep after all the fireworks.”
“Hmm . . . yeah. Where’s my Jeep?”
“Still at my parents. We’ll go get it tomorrow.”
“Yeah . . . ’kay.”
I smiled and squeezed her knee. She just groaned and swatted at my hand.
“Oh my God!” she yelled suddenly, and sat straight up.
“What?” I’d been slowing for a red light but slammed on the breaks at her outburst.
“I have something for you at home! I almost forgot!”
“You . . . Jesus Christ, Rach! I thought we were about to get hit or I was about to run over someone!”
“Well, get over it! We didn’t. Come on light, turn green, go, go, go, come on we have to get home!” She bounced up and down in her seat and looked at the empty streets around us.
“Fuck, swear to God you’re going to be the death of me.”
She stopped bouncing and turned to face me. Her dark blue eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. “Keep being an asshole and you won’t get it.”
I couldn’t help it. A massive smile crossed my face. I put the car in park, unclicked her seat belt, and pulled her across the seat to me. “There’s my fiery girl. You’re such a cute little monster when you wake up.”
“I will cut you.”