I choked on something between a laugh and a sob.
“I love the way you dress, and the way you light up when you talk about the universe, and the way you saw through every wall I tried to put between me and the rest of the world and knew who I was even when I didn’t.”
He shook his head, licking his lips before he continued.
“I love how you believe in me, and how you burn to prove everyone wrong when they size you up too quickly. I love that you challenge yourself.” He paused. “I love that you challenge me.”
I leaned into his palm, bottom lip quivering before I bit down to hold it still.
“I love everything about you — big and small, silly and serious. And I’m sorry I was an idiot and tried to end our story before it even had the chance to begin.”
I closed my eyes, not even realizing the tears that had flooded my eyes until that motion released them and two rivulets ran silently down my cheeks.
Clay thumbed each away.
“I know I have a lot to explain, and I promise I’ll tell you everything. But right now, I just need you to know that I might have been good at pretending a lot in our time together, but I never faked the way I felt about you.” His thumb slid across my jaw. “You have owned my heart since the first fake kiss, Kitten.”
Something of a laugh left me as I opened my eyes again, and Clay waited until I looked at him before he held up the book in his hands.
“This baby needs some revision,” he said, trying to smile, though it fell quickly as his eyes searched mine, the same pain I felt reflected in them. “So, what do you say? Want to rewrite it together?”
A few more tears slipped quietly down my cheeks, Clay wiping them away before they had the chance to even hit my jaw line as I shook my head. My eyes bounced between his, heart swelling with the hope he’d restored.
I sniffed, grabbing the book and turning it over in my hands as I surveyed the horrid cover and font.
“Only if we start completely over,” I whispered, smiling as I peeked up at him. “Because this is the ugliest thing I have ever seen in my life.”
The room burst into laughter at that, and I had almost forgotten about the crowd until that moment. But I didn’t have time to even blush before Clay took the book out of my hand and dropped it to the ground.
“Deal,” he breathed.
And then he kissed me.
His arms wrapped me up in a fierce embrace, sweeping me off my feet until just my toes touched the ground. I snaked my arms around his neck just the same, holding on tight as he kissed me breathless in the flashing lights of a dozen cameras.
“Atta boy!” I heard Zeke yell, and the room erupted into applause.
That brought me back to the moment, and I flushed, breaking our kiss and ducking my head into Clay’s chest as he grinned and tucked me into his side.
“Alright, alright,” he said, holding up his other hand. “No more questions. You can read all about it in our book.” He looked down at me then. “If we ever stop kissing long enough to write it.”
Riley blew out a loud whistle as Clay swept me up in his arms, kissing me to another bellow of applause before he was carrying me through the crowd and out the door. Cameras and crew tried to follow us, but Riley and Zeke held them off — along with Charlotte, who turned and crossed her arms once we’d shut the door that led into the team hallway.
“Oh God,” I said, scrambling out of Clay’s arms. “Charlotte, I’m so sorry. I—”
“Sorry?” she asked, severe, and then a slow smile spread on her face. “For what? Making us the headline?”
I blinked. “I…uh…”
“It’s fine,” she said, begrudgingly, before she turned and pointed at Clay. “But don’t ever pull that shit again. And you both owe me an interview with the reporter of my choosing. A long one.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Clay answered.
Charlotte smirked, waving a hand at me as she clicked by in her high heels. “Go get a room, you two, before you make us all sick.”
I hid my face in Clay’s chest again, and then he used his knuckles to tilt my chin, wrapping me in his arms before he turned to face Zeke and Riley.
“Thanks for helping me pull my head out of my ass,” he said.
Zeke put his arm around Riley. “Anytime, bro.”
“You two were in on this?” I asked, pointing between them.
“Duh,” Riley answered. “Although, don’t blame those stick figures on me. I offered to help sketch and he refused.”