But I also didn’t have to stand idly by and watch. Not without making my feelings known.
I swallowed and turned my attention to Chloe who was now standing directly in front of me. Her concerned expression was a mixture of a tilted frown and creased brows. “Is everything okay?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Nothing’s okay without you in my life,” I admitted. My voice was raw and hoarse with the honesty.
“What?” she whispered, her blue eyes coated with a thin sheen of moisture.
“I’m an idiot,” I admitted. “Any man would be lucky to have a woman like you need him. But because I’m so pigheaded, I couldn’t see how much I needed you, too. I’ve spent so many years doing everything alone because I had no choice in the matter. But now? I got a small taste of what it’s like to have someone be there for me. Someone to hold my hand through hard times. Someone who would drop everything, wake up at three in the morning, and bake the world’s worst muffins just so I didn’t have to drive alone to my mom’s surgery.”
She blinked slowly, and even though nothing else in her face shifted, a slow tear rolled down her cheek “I hope there’s more coming… because if you just came here to insult my baking—”
“I need you, Chloe. Yes, I also want you, but what I feel is so much more than that. You make everything better. Breathing is easier around you. I want you to be my person. My best friend person. My girlfriend person. And eventually, my wife person. I want you to want me… and I’ve realized that’s it okay if you also need me.”
She swiped at her cheek and, with a shake of her head, chuckled. “I realized the opposite.”
My stomach went hollow at her declaration, and I felt white-hot tingles as my face drained. I must look like a mess—hair wild, eyes red-rimmed. My heart thumped in heavy pulses against my ribcage.
“Actually,” she continued. “I’m so much more capable than I thought. Did you know that for two nights last week, Finn couldn’t be there to help me bake and run the food truck? I did it alone.”
I smiled, despite the numbing sadness creeping into my limbs. “I knew you could handle that. I mean, hell, you scraped all the rust and painted that damn truck yourself. Of course you could sling a few donuts and cookies on your own.”
Her smile widened, but there were still traces of moisture brimming her eyes. “It might have been obvious to you, but I never would have learned that if you hadn’t given me the push to stand on my own two feet.”
The tears in her eyes ripped through me, shredding me from the inside out. I desperately wanted to wrap my arms around her and pull her into me. “You could always stand on your own two feet. You just needed to let go of my hand to see it for yourself.”
She nodded and took a step forward. “Exactly. And despite being able to do it on my own… I’d rather stand alongside my partner.” She slid her hands up my biceps, gripping my muscles. “I love you, Liam Evans. And I want you. I want you more than I need you.”
The reality of her words slammed into me. She loves me. As another tear fell down her cheek, heat burned the backs of my eyes, too, buzzing in my sinuses. I felt the slow roll of moisture slip down my face. “I want you more than I need you too, Chloe.” I leaned down, gently pressing my forehead to hers. “But I do need you.”
Chloe reached up and caught one of my tears with her index finger. “I never thought a crying man could be so sexy,” she whispered.
Normally, this would be the moment I’d flex or put on some false macho display to try to prove something to myself and every witness to my tears. But with Chloe in my arms and tears still in my eyes, I leaned forward and rested my lips to hers.
Her moan was my reward and a small hiccup trembled against our parted lips as she deepened the kiss, nudging my mouth wider with her tongue.
As the kiss ended, her grin widened against me and she dipped her finger into my chin dimple.
“Admit,” she said, smiling up at me. “This was your plan all along, wasn’t it? Ever since you dropped those donuts off at my house and stayed the night watching romantic comedies with me.”
“No,” I said. Shaking my head, I was suddenly serious. With my hand cupping her jaw still, I could feel her heavy pulse driving against my fingers. “This was my plan ten years ago when we were sixteen making out. It just took a lot longer than I expected.”
Epilogue Chloe
One year later…
I hated leaving Liam in bed alone. But with the stress of yesterday, he needed the rest. It had become somewhat of a tradition over the last twelve months that we’d all have a giant sleepover the night of Linda’s scans. She’d been cancer free for every scan so far in the last twelve months, and with this latest clear scan, it meant she only needed to come in every six months… not every three months as she’d been doing. It was a huge milestone for the Evans family.
Since Liam’s and my home had the most bedrooms, our house was almost always the camping ground for said sleepovers. Which was fine with me. I adored having everyone here.
We all stayed up super late, watching movies and celebrating the latest remission diagnosis from the doctor. Even though it was only six in the morning and I’d only gotten about five hours of sleep, I wanted to be the first one awake. It was part of the ritual… that I woke up
