Page 475 of Face Off
Ryan absorbs the sentence without defending me from it.
“He loves you,” he says.
“Cade loves you too.”
“I know.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” I move closer and rest my hand over his. “He knew what losing me did to you. He needed to become the voice you couldn’t be because you would’ve stopped the second you thought the truth might hurt me.”
Ryan looks down at our hands. “Cade doesn’t usually have a problem hurting people with the truth.”
“He could teach a class.”
“Aura would challenge the syllabus.”
“Easton would threaten anyone who disagreed with her.”
“Briggs would attend for the snacks.”
A laugh escapes me. “You’re unbelievably blessed, you know that?”
“Because Briggs steals my food?”
“Because you have an entire collection of large, terrifying men prepared to commit murder on your behalf.”
“Cade is the only one of us with experience.”
“That was self-defense.”
“Exactly. He understands the importance of legal justification. He’d assign everyone a role, establish our alibis, and make sure Briggs never touched the evidence.”
“That is deeply concerning.”
“It’s leadership.”
I laugh again, and some of the weight finally leaves Ryan’s expression. His fingers turn beneath mine until our palms meet.
“Is that everything?” he asks.
“Yes.”
His eyes search my face. “Then can you come home now?”
The question reaches so deeply that I have to breathe before answering.
“I am home.”
“Charm.”
“You are home,” I tell him. “This loft is home. Encanto is home. Kimball Falls is home. I spent most of my life living inside a house that never felt like one, so I’m allowed to be excessive now.”
His mouth curves, but the uncertainty remains behind his eyes. “That was a beautiful speech.”
“Thank you.”
“It didn’t answer my question.”
“I’ll live with you in Milwaukee and return here whenever the business, my mother, or the girls need me. You’ll come here when you can. We’re going to have two homes.”
