He stopped just close enough for me to smell the intoxicating scent of his cologne, and with that familiar scent came a wave of memories of our time together that had me battling back tears. I'd put in so much work the past few months to move past all the sadness. I thought I'd finally gotten past the uncontrollable crying fits, but here, now, I was dangerously close to bursting into ugly sobs.
"Quinn," I said on an expelled breath.
"Hey, baby." Then he smiled. Smiled. All the way to his eyes, and the beauty of it hit me square in the stomach. I'd never seen anything so amazing in all my life.
"What … what are you doing here?"
He scooped Sophia up with his free arm and gently placed her feet on the floor before lifting the roses. "I wanted to give you these."
I moved on autopilot, taking the flowers from his hand as I stuttered, "Th-thank you. They're, um, they're beautiful."
His right hand came up and caressed my cheek, the pad of his thumb trailing along my cheekbone to my temple. Just that simple touch was like an electric jolt. "Not nearly as beautiful as you."
What was happening? Was I dreaming? That was the only logical explanation for the baffling turn my day had suddenly taken.
"I don't," I stumbled over my words, as his green eyes held mine captive. His gorgeous smiling green eyes. "I don't know what's happening right now," I whispered.
He took one step closer, both of his hands cupping the sides of my neck as his fingers threaded through my hair. "What's happening is I've been a fucking idiot."
"Language, son!" At the unexpected female voice, I tipped my head to the side and noticed, for the first time, that Quinn's parents were standing right behind him … and beside them were Addison's.
Quinn's hands shifted my face back so I was looking up at him. "I've been an idiot," he amended. "I've missed you so much, Lilly. And I couldn't wait another day to see you."
I put pressure on his hands, needing to break the connection between us. I couldn't handle it. It was too much. My poor, battered heart couldn't possibly take another beating. "I don't-"
"I'm in love with you," he spoke, loud and firm, and I froze in place, my eyes going wide as my jaw dropped. "I love you, baby. I have for a long time. But I needed to work on letting go of my past before I could come back for you. I needed to prove to you that I'm the kind of man who deserves you."
I couldn't process what he was saying. After having my heart broken so completely, I didn't trust my own ears, so instead of saying what my heart was screaming for me to say, that I loved him too, I leaned in and spit out the first words that came to mind.
"Quinn, everyone's watching," I whispered, as my gaze darted around our captivated audience. "They can hear you."
He chuckled lightly as his hands gave me a squeeze. "I know, baby. I asked them to be here."
I reared back as far as I could with his hold on me. "What? Why?"
"Because if there's one thing I learned in everything I put you through, it's that my actions speak louder than my words. I couldn't just tell you I loved you. I had to show you."
His hands unwound from my hair and reached down, taking the roses from my hand and passing them off to Kyle so he could grip my own. I lowered my gaze and sucked in an audible breath that what I saw.
Or, more to the point, what I didn't.
His ring was gone.
"Lilly," he said, pulling my attention back to his face. "You aren't my dirty little secret. I'm not ashamed to be with you, I never was. I just had to learn how to let go of my past before I could give you exactly what you needed. But I'm ready to do that now. I love you with everything I am. And I'm asking … no, I'm begging you to give me another chance, because I can't imagine my life without you in it."
Damn it. I was crying again. In front of everybody. But I couldn't find it in me to care. "You really love me?"
He smiled that smile that took my breath away. "Since the first time you set your kitchen on fire."
I threw my head back and laughed, loudly and from deep within my belly. When I finally looked back at him, his eyes were on my dimple. He lifted our joined hands and ran the tip of his finger across it. "God I've missed seeing this."
The warmth in my chest spread through my entire body, blanketing me in happiness. "I love you too," I rasped, as more tears spilled from my eyes.
A loud, hiccupping sob cut through the moment, drawing my and Quinn's attention away from each other.