He pulled her into his arms and rocked her back and forth. “I can finally breathe now that you are back in my arms.”
“Me too.”
Brian couldn’t let things rest until he’d addressed what had been said on the recording. The things he’d said, well, he hadn’t meant any of them. “In case you ever listen to the recording of myself and Keith, please know that I didn’t mean a word—”
“Brian, I know that,” she said, reaching up to touch his face as they lay nestled in each other’s arms. “You were doing what you had to in order to help my family.”
“I was. Honestly, I never expected any of what he confessed. I thought, at best, that he might have known the real person who had mucked things up...not that he was the mastermind behind all of it. But he wanted to burn down everything Ava loved.”
Piper shook her head. “I read an article a few years ago about how fine the line between love and hate is, but to be honest I never believed it until now. I am so sorry you had to do that.”
“I’m not. When you told me everything, I realized that despite telling you I was mature and feeling in my heart that I was ready to make a life with you, I’d never really given us a chance to talk. I just rushed you to bed and then wanted to make it permanent,” he said.
She smiled at him. “Don’t take all the credit for rushing me to bed.”
He was starting to think that Piper wasn’t just here to thank him for helping to catch the criminal responsible for the trouble at Wingate Enterprises. She was talking to him in a careful way. She’d explained how her past affected her feelings about marriage and...did she regret ending things with him?
He took a deep breath, not sure if his heart would survive her rejecting him again. But he had to at least try one more time. He knew his life was going to always seem a little too gray and routine without Piper in it. Stretching one arm along her back, he looked into those beautiful eyes of hers. God, how he’d missed her. It might have only been two days since he’d last seen her but, in his heart, it felt much longer.
A lifetime had passed since he left her at Ava’s house. So much had happened and changed, but the one thing that hadn’t was how he felt about her. He wanted her as much now as he ever had. If not more so. Having confronted his uncle and heard the way the other man had tried to ruin Ava’s life, and by extension, Piper’s, had made him want to right the wrongs done to them.
And he had.
There was nothing left but to bare his soul to Piper and see if she’d have him back in her life. If she’d give him the second chance that he so desperately wanted. And if she said no? God, it would hurt like hell, but he’d respect her decision.
“You know I did all that for you,” he said. “I mean, I couldn’t let him walk away once he’d hinted that he might have had something to do with it, but I did it because you told me how much your family meant to you and I know deep in my heart that one day I want to be a part of your family. I want you to be my family—”
“Brian, I can’t—”
He stopped her words with his fingers over her lips.
“Piper, marriage doesn’t matter. I want you by my side. I love you,” he said. “I know that I probably am moving too fast, but time isn’t going to change how I feel about you and I don’t want to have to pretend that it will.”
He put his hand on her naked hip and waited to see what she would say. She leaned up, meeting his gaze with her own. “I can’t have kids. That’s not going to change. It might matter to you, Brian, when everyone else is starting a family and you are stuck with—”
“The most gorgeous woman in Texas? The only woman I’ve ever loved? Unless you don’t love me, Piper, there is no reason for us not to be together. There are plenty of kids in the world who need a family, and when we are ready, they will find us.”
She smiled at him and he realized he was holding his breath. She hadn’t said she loved him or that she wanted him back in her life, but he’d laid it all bare. It was up to her to make the next move, and whatever she decided, he’d abide by it.
Even if it killed him.
“I love you, Brian. If you’re sure—”
“Dammit, Piper, I’m a man of my word.”
“You are,” she admitted, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she kissed him. It seemed to him that she might never let go; hell, he wasn’t going to let go for a long time either.
“I wish I’d taken the time to see what you were hiding from me,” he said. “I’m so sorry you were hurt.”
“You couldn’t have seen it, Brian. I was hiding it even from myself. I thought I had everything I needed until you came along and danced with me at the wedding reception, and suddenly I was thinking how nice it might be to have you in my life.”
“Forever.”
“Forever.”
Epilogue
Hosting Thanksgiving at her house wasn’t something Piper had anticipated doing, but she wanted to have her family around Brian and herself. She was little nervous, which was silly because it wasn’t as if she needed her family’s approval to be with the man she loved, but she still wanted it. And Brian had decided to forgo his traditional attendance at the Cowboys game since he said there was nowhere he’d rather be than by her side.
The turkey was in the oven and Brian was in the big living room, acting as the host. He had the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on because that was one of her nonnegotiables. Brian had brought his mom’s famous cinnamon pumpkin bread and his parents were coming by later. The arrest of Keith hadn’t been easy for the Cooper family, but they weren’t that close to his uncle so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
Beth and Camden arrived first. She sent Camden into the living room with Brian who had a drinks station set up in the corner at a large antique bar she’d purchased a few years ago in an estate sale. Next were Harley, Grant and Daniel, and then Zeke and Reagan, and Luke, who she knew was feeling stressed about finding new ways to revive Wingate’s businesses. Finally, Sutton and his fiancée, Lauren, arrived with Ava. Sebastian had texted he would be there in time for football and turkey, and Gracie had gone to Florida to spend the holiday with her family. Piper had everyone together.
She had an open-plan kitchen that spilled into the living room, so everyone moved back and forth between both rooms. Ava pulled her aside and Piper was wary about what her sister would say. Ava had thought Brian was too young for her.
“I was wrong about Brian,” Ava said. “Let’s get that out of the way first. He’s a great man and perfect for you. And I will never be able to forget what he did for us.”