Page 114 of Stupid Matchmaking Love

“That’s my girl,” he murmurs again, and a warm feeling pools in my chest.

His pace becomes even faster, and right before he peaks, he says the one word I love hearing.

“Cristina.”

Then he breaks apart and lowers himself on top of me, kissing me deeply before collapsing onto the opposite side of the bed.

We lie there, both of us breathless, until Rhett pulls me onto him and kisses my forehead. “I love you,” he whispers into my hair.

I lift my head to look at him, heart hammering. “What?”

His eyes are serious, vulnerable. “I love you, Cristina. I’m terrified, but I love you. Have since the moment I spotted you trying to hide your inhaler.”

Tears prick my eyes. “I love you, too.”

Love. It seems like such a small word for what this is. This feels like more than love. It feels like devotion, understanding, acceptance—it’s so big it threatens to swallow me whole, and from the look in Rhett’s eyes, I think he feels the same way.

I allow myself to breathe through this and accept it, absorb it, allow it to settle into my bloodstream and become part of me.

Rhett Maddox loves me, and I love him.

Never in a million years would I ever have thought this would happen.

I sit up. “You love me even though I’m your stalker?”

He cringes. “Now, hold on. That was a misunderstanding. Your ex—”

“I know, silly. I’m only teasing you.”

“Can we please both agree never to bring that up again?”

“We can.”

He brushes hair from my eyes. It’s the sweetest, most endearing moment, and yet also so him—to notice what I need and fix it.

“I terrify you?”

“You do.” He takes my hand and studies it, tracing the lines with his finger. “But I suppose that comes with the territory.”

“Would it make you feel better if I said you scare me, too?”

“No, but it does help us map this together.”

That’s it. I’m officially a puddle on the floor.

I hug him and he kisses my forehead again. “I haven’t seen you with the inhaler for a while.”

He’s right. I take a deep breath and note how relaxed my lungs are. Even after all the physical exertion of the challenge, there’s no tightness, no ever-present tension reminding me I’m only a few puffs away from an emergency.

A slow smile breaks out across my face. “I guess I haven’t been needing it as much.” On the nightstand, my Bitty Being flickers like it’s glowing from the inside out. “Would you look at that.”

Rhett turns his head, but the flicker’s gone. “What?”

“Nothing. Just the magic in this land making things glow.”

We’re silent for a few moments, until he says, with a smile in his voice, “You know what sealed the deal for me?”

I lift my head. “What?”