Page 93 of A Bossy Surprise

“Yes, it’s true that we’ve only been dating for a short while, but we’ve known each other our whole lives. Kayla, we grew up together. I know I love you because I know exactly who you are, and I love that person. You are not only beautiful on theoutside, but also on the inside. You are kind, you are loyal, you’re intelligent, driven, wise, fiercely protective, and I could go on. You are like no one else I’ve ever met.”

She turns back around to me and puts her hands up. “Adam, stop talking.”

“No.”

“If you keep talking I’ll start believing you.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

She’s silent for a moment. “Because if I start believing you, then I will give myself permission to admit that I love you too. There’s no coming back from that.”

I laugh. “Would that be such a bad thing?”

“Yes, I mean look at what happened between us. That fight we had was ugly.”

“That is true, but couples fight all the time. What matters is how they make up. That’s exactly what we are doing right now.”

“Are we? Because telling me you love me every time we have a fight isn’t going to work.”

“That wasn’t my goal in telling you how I feel.”

“Then what was?”

“I was going to say I love you. You are my girlfriend and we have a son together. You should never feel any type of way about asking me to factor you into any of my decisions. We are together. That means we are a unit and we have to be conscious of how we affect each other.”

“I love that you’re saying all this, but I don’t want you to do things you don’t want to just because of me.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. I will always make the decision I feel is best, but I will take you into consideration. Would you want to be with someone who disregards your feelings?”

“No.”

“Exactly. You are important to me. I care about how you feel and the things you say, and I’m fine with them influencing my decisions. It’s just as simple as that.”

She laughs.

I smile. “What?”

“I just think it’s funny how we’ve switched perspectives.”

I laugh. “Yeah, that is funny.”

She comes back to me, stares up into my eyes for a beat then closes hers before taking a deep breath. “I love you too.”

I can’t help the triumphant smile I shine down on her. “You don’t have to say it back if you’re not ready. I only told you I love you to better express my point.”

“Yeah, I know. Either way I’m still comfortable saying it.”

I kiss her, she hugs me again, and we stand in her entryway swaying from side to side.

“So, you aren’t getting rid of GNN?” She asks after a while.

“No, I’m not.”

“What does that mean for you?”

“Well, it means my life is about to get a little more interesting. Dad is going to try and make the company look bad in front of Grant Media’s board. I’m going to have to counter his efforts by making us look the best we can.”

“What do you have in mind?”