“What do you want me to say here, Tatum?” he whispered. “That I’ve missed you so damn much that I’ve had to leave my phone here at night just to keep from calling you?”
“That at least explains why you haven’t returned my calls and messages,” she said.
“I couldn’t because if I had, I would have begged you to take me back. I’d have admitted that I was a damn fool for listening to your brother and telling you that we needed to take a break,” he admitted.
“Yeah—” she said, “I just had a little talk with Jackson and told him to stay the hell out of my relationship with you. Honestly, Ryder, you should have done the same when he stuck his nose in and told you to let me go.”
Ryder shrugged, “He made sense,” he admitted. “When he was telling me that I wasn’t good for you and that I needed to let you go, I believed him. I was a fool, Honey,” he said. Ryder closed the space between them and pulled her into his arms.
“Yes,” she breathed, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You were. But I’m willing to give you a second chance,” she said. “Or we could just go out to the parking lot and I’ll run you down with my car since that worked so well for me the last time,” she teased.
“I think we can skip that step this time,” Ryder said.
“Well, I was prepared to hijack your plane, if necessary,” she said.
“Look at you, stepping up your game. You went from running me down with your car to thinking about stealing my plane. My girl’s coming up in the world,” he teased.
“Am I?” she breathed.
“Are you what, Baby?” he asked. He pushed her hair back from her face and gently kissed her lips.
“Am I your girl?” she asked.
“God, I hope so. I was an idiot for telling you that we needed to take a break. I don’t want that, Tatum—I never did. I just wanted you to be sure that you want me. I know that I’m not worthy of you, but I promise you that if you give me a chance, I won’t ever let you down again.”
Tatum framed his face with her hands, rubbing her fingers over the few day’s stubble that coated his jaw. “You never let me down, Ryder and as for you not being worthy of me—that’s horse shit. I want you, Ryder. I’m in love with you.”
Ryder let out his breath and nodded and Tatum worried that he was going to tell her that he didn’t feel the same. “I love you too, Baby,” he said. “I have for a long time—I was just a fucking coward and didn’t tell you.” He sealed his mouth over hers and kissed her, reminding her of everything they were together and everything he wanted with her. When he broke the kiss, she was panting and needy.
“Marry me,” he breathed.
“Marry you?” she squeaked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Marry me. I’m done worrying that I’m not what you need. I’m done overthinking all of this. I love you—marry me.”
“Yes,” she breathed. “I’ll marry you, Ryder,” she agreed. He picked her up and twirled her around and Tatum felt like the luckiest woman on the planet. They had collided like a perfect storm when she crashed into his life—literally. She had finally landed her guy and this time; the pun was fully intended. Ryder was her sexy biker, her hot pilot, and the man who owned her body, mind, and soul.