Jill Shalvis: Flashback

The fire trucks had arrived, and none too soon as the flames forced Kenzie and Aidan back from yet another cave-in.

“Hold still, you son of a bitch,” Blake growled out to the chief, who was trying to crawl free and get to the edge of the roof.

Aidan tried to move around the flames to help Blake with the chief, but suddenly he wavered, then sank to his knees.

“Aidan!”

“Yeah. Think maybe I hit my head before.” He blinked at her face as she dropped to her knees in front of him. “There’s three of you.”

“Oh, God.” She touched the gash along his temple, which was bleeding freely. “Hold still!”

“Not a problem.”

A ladder and bucket came into view over the roofline, lifted by a crane from below. It held two firefighters, who took one look at Blake and staggered to a shocked halt.

“Later,” Blake yelled at them. “I’ll explain later! Aidan’s down and we need Tommy and some cuffs. Tell me someone has some cuffs!”

IT ACTUALLY WASN’T THAT EASY, nothing ever was, Kenzie thought. Hours later, they were all sitting around Aidan’s hospital bed, where he was being held overnight, thanks to a concussion.

The chief had been taken to jail, which was such a huge town scandal that Tommy had left to prepare for a press conference. Sheila was sitting in a chair, her wrist in a sling. It was her only injury, but the café was a complete loss. Dustin was next to her, his arm around her shoulders. Cristina was there, too, holding a bucket full of money from emergency personnel on the scene who’d already poured some of their support into it for Sheila.

“I could go to Hawaii with all that.” Tears were thick in Sheila’s voice.

“Or you could rebuild,” Aidan said from flat on his back.

At the sound of his voice, Kenzie’s heart squeezed. He’d been so damn quiet, and she’d been so damn worried.

On the other side of Aidan’s bed, Blake stirred. “The chief’s in custody,” he told Aidan. “And he’s not going to get off easy.”

Aidan’s gaze tracked to Kenzie. “I don’t want to get off easy, either.” He reached for her hand. “Not tonight, or any night.”

She gripped his fingers tightly and pressed them to her aching heart. He was talking, but not making any sense. She hadn’t taken a full breath since they’d taken him for X-rays and she didn’t take one now. “I’ll go get your nurse-”

“No.” His grip was like iron. “I’m not crazy.”

“I know-”

“Listen to me. You pulled it off, you broke my damn heart. We’re even.”

Oh, God, and now he was delirious. “Aidan-”

“Maybe we should give them a moment,” Dustin said, guiding Sheila out of the room. Cristina followed.

Blake did not leave. “What’s going on?”

“I love you back, Kenzie.” Aidan managed a smile, although it was crooked. “But I think you already knew that.”

“No.” She shook her head, finding herself both laughing and crying. “I didn’t. I hoped…”

Blake was staring at the two of them, mouth grim. “Wait. Love?”

Aidan, who still hadn’t stopped looking into Kenzie’s eyes, nodded. “Definitely love.”

And just like that, Kenzie took a full breath. God, it felt good to breathe. Breathe and live and love.

“Okay, somebody talk to me,” Blake said.

“Well you’ve been dead, or I’d have told you before now,” Kenzie reminded him. “I’ve been busy trying to make Aidan pay for breaking my heart all those years ago.”

At this, Blake blinked, then sent a glacial stare at Aidan. “You broke my sister’s heart?”

Aidan winced. “Yeah, but if it helps, I was an idiot.”

“He really was,” Kenzie agreed.

“And trust me, she got me back,” Aidan said. “Her evil plan worked. I fell hard. I love her, Blake.” He broke eye contact with Kenzie and looked right at Blake, his smile gone, eyes dead serious. “I love her with everything I’ve got.”

Blake looked as if a good wind could knock him over. “You put your heart out there? You? ”

Bringing his and Kenzie’s still joined hands to his chest, Aidan nodded. “Yeah.”

“And then she stomped on it?”

“In boots, with spikes on the soles,” Aidan assured him.

Blake took this in and considered, then relaxed. “Okay, then. As long as you’re even.”

“Not even,” Kenzie whispered. “Not yet.”

Uncertainty twisted Aidan’s features. “Kenzie-”

“We’re not even until I get my happily-ever-after.” Her throat was so tight she could barely speak. “But since I’m going to be writing, I’m pretty sure I can plot it out for myself.”

Aidan’s eyes registered both surprise and pride. “You’re going to be great at writing. But about that ending…Am I in it?”

“I can guarantee it.”

He smiled, and right then, Kenzie knew. She didn’t need a script for this, her life, not anymore. The real thing was so much better. Taking the first step, she cupped Aidan’s gorgeous face and kissed him.

USA TODAY bestselling author Jill Shalvis is happily writing her next book from her neck of the Sierras. You can find her romances wherever books are sold, or visit her on the Web at www.jillshalvis.com/blog.