Page 46 of Payback
Chapter Eleven
Bella’s heart melted when Loran showed up at her door with a dozen white roses tied with a lavender satin bow.
“Thank you,” she said, kissing him. “These are beautiful.”
“I have flowers in the car for your mom. Carrot cake too.” He bit his lip, looking adorably uncertain. “I seem to recall your dad liking that. I hope it’s okay.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s perfect, babe. Don’t worry, you already know my parents love you.”
He buried his face in her neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “It’s different now though. I’m not just your brother’s friend anymore. I’m their daughter’s boyfriend. How do you think they’re going to take that?”
She wasn’t worried. Her parents had always trusted her judgement. Besides they were getting concerned that she’d never meet anyone she wanted to settle down with, so she suspected her relationship with Loran would put their minds at ease, especially when they saw how close they were.
“I think they’re going to be thrilled.”
His grip on her tightened. “But what if they’re not? Is that going to change how you feel about me… if your parents don’t approve?”
She kissed his lips before looking him in the eye. “Nothing is going to change the way I feel about you.”
“But family is important to you and—”
She silenced him with another kiss. “And so are you.” She took a step back before setting the flowers down on a side table. “I thought we were working on this trust thing, Loran. Don’t you trust me to still want you when things get hard?” She was trying not to let the hurt and disappointment seep into her voice, but she thought they were finally getting past all the uncertainty.
“I do.” He closed his eyes when she gave him a pointed look, challenging him. “I want to.”
She scooped up the flowers and took them into the kitchen, forcing herself to take a few deep breaths when she heard the door slam. She didn’t know which side of it he was on, but prayed he’d stayed so they could work this out, once and for all.
She finally released the breath she’d been holding when she heard his footsteps on the tile floor as he entered the kitchen. She reached for a vase above the sink, but he snagged it before she could.
He reached around her to fill it with water and she relaxed into his strong body. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to fight with you, but I don’t want there to be this tension between us either. I need you to know how I feel about you.” She knew she was asking a lot, since she hadn’t been able to express with those all-important three little words how much he meant to her.
“Then tell me.”
His lips brushed her temple and she sighed with satisfaction. The slightest touch from him had the power to right her world, and calm the butterflies dancing in her tummy.
“You know I think you’re amazing.” She cut the stems off the flowers as she considered all the things she loved about him. “I love that you’re passionate about what you do, but don’t let it consume your life. You’re confident, but not full of yourself, and that’s sexy as hell. Plus, you care about people. Even total strangers.”
She smiled as his hands drifted over her hips while he kissed her neck. “You’re the kind of man I’ve always wanted in my life, when I allowed myself to admit I wanted someone at all.” It wasn’t exactly an admission of love, but it was close. She hoped he could read between the lines.
“Go on.”
She laughed as his hand slipped beneath her sweater. “How ‘bout I tell you how great you are later?” She turned her head to the side and whispered, “In bed.”
He groaned and she felt his arousal. “You expect me to wait that long to finish this?”
“Anticipation makes it more fun,” she teased, turning into his arms.
His expression was serious, almost grave, as his eyes travelled over her face. “I love you, Bella. I think I’ve loved you since the first time we talked on the phone. You were cutting me up, making me laugh, and I knew right then you were different. You weren’t like all the other girls who tried so hard to impress me because of who I was and how much money I made.”
He didn’t have to tell her he loved her. She could feel it every time he touched her. But it was really nice to hear those words pass his lips. “I was testing you,” she said, with a smile. “To see if your ego could handle it. I didn’t want a guy who took himself too seriously.” Not that she’d been thinking about making Loran hers way back then. That thought didn’t enter her head until days passed and he was all she could think about.
“I wasn’t looking for you,” he whispered. “I wasn’t looking for anyone. I thought my life was pretty damn good the way it was. I was living the dream. Until I realized you were part of the dream.”
She never expected a tough guy like Loran to be so open about his feelings, but she loved that he was. He wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable with her and that made her want to open up to him too.
“You were my nightmare.” She tapped his chest at his look of confusion. “Falling for someone as hard as I fell for you had always been my worst fear.”
“And now?”
