His brain was struggling to keep up, but he got the key message. She’d been trying to help him.
“I figured it out,” she said. “There was a security camera in the restroom and it was hacked. It was an inside job. You’re in the clear.”
Her words took one layer of hurt away, but not the other. “That’s good to hear, but—”
“I did it for you, Jay.” She cut him off, her voice urgent. “I did it because I love you.”
I love you. Maybe he hadn’t heard her right, or maybe she was acting, or maybe she was just telling him what she knew he wanted to hear.
“I know I hurt you,” she said. “You made me feel things I’d never felt before. I didn’t know what to do with them. I was so wrapped up in the fact love could end, I didn’t realize when it was beginning.” She was hugging herself now, hands wrapped around her middle, shifting her weight on her enormous white shoes like she was expecting to be rejected all over again.
So he closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. She was as soft and warm as he remembered and she smelled of wildflowers and fresh ocean air.
“I wanted to be loved,” she murmured against his chest. “But the closer people got to me, the more terrified I was of getting hurt. I pushed people away because I didn’t know how to be loved. I didn’t think I could love you the way you deserved. But you just kept coming back.” She looked up, her eyes deep, dark, and dangerously intense. “I didn’t believe that anything could be forever, but this feeling, this love, I can’t imagine it ever going away.”
She loved him. She loved him and she wanted it to last. He wrapped one arm around her waist and cupped her nape with his other hand. He kissed her softly, gently, taking his time because he wasn’t worried he would lose her. This love wouldn’t end.
“Say it again.” He nuzzled her neck.
She knew exactly what he wanted. “I love you. I might still get scared sometimes and push you away, but—”
“I’ll still be here,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Well, you are.” She looked around. “When is your flight?”
“It’s not my flight. I’m picking up Avi’s uncle. He’s flying in from Delhi and his plane was delayed.”
She shuddered in his arms. “You’re not leaving?”
“I already made arrangements for Elias to do most of the international travel. He and Brittany have hit it off. I just couldn’t leave my mom and I couldn’t stop hoping that we could work things out. I’m also seeing someone about my PTSD and I’m committed to seeing it through to the end. I want to be the best man I can be. The best Jay.”
“You are the best man. You’re my man.”
“And you’re my heart.” He jerked his head to the side. “We have an audience. Do they belong to you too?”
“My aunties. They saved the day. Bushra Auntie even gave me her shoes.” Her smile softened. “We should get back to the wedding.”
“I’ll be there as soon as Avi’s uncle arrives.” He gave her one last kiss. “Maybe you can find some seats for us at the couples table.”
* * *
? ? ?
Wrapped up in Jay’s arms for the last dance of the evening, Zara snuggled against his chest listening to Ben E. King sing “Stand By Me.” “This is hands down the best wedding season I’ve ever had.”
“Because of me,” Jay said, his voice smug.
“Mostly because of you.”
He stiffened. “Why not all because of me?”
“Well, for starters, we wouldn’t be here if Tarun and Maria hadn’t gotten engaged and decided to have a paintball party. And if you hadn’t been so arrogant and officious, I wouldn’t have shot you in the ass and you wouldn’t have noticed me. I would have been just another scantily clad woman prancing through the forest.”
He nuzzled her neck. “I noticed you the second you ran onto the field screaming, I’m heeeeeere. I thought to myself, That’s my kind of woman.”
“You did not.”
He brushed a kiss over her forehead. “Maybe I had a few different thoughts, but I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”
“Except when I was crawling behind you in the forest, staring at your ass.”
Another smug smile. “She likes my ass.”
She reached down to give him a squeeze. “It’s a nice ass, as you are very well aware.”