Chapter Twenty-One

(Back to the Gazebo Of Loooove)

Chloe could feel her knees begin to wobble as the passion of this second kiss began to increase. Brady has his hands gently resting in her long brown hair, and Chloe could feel her heart beating faster and faster.

She broke off the kiss and tried to catch her breath. Brady backed away from her slightly, but still held on to her. Chloe gasped at the realization of what she had done and she clapped one hand over her mouth in surprise.

"Oh wow... Brady... I can't believe I did that."

Brady grinned at her and shrugged. "Neither can I. But, I can't say that I'm not glad that you did."

Chloe moved away from him and stepped slowly to the other side of the gazebo. "That wasn't what I intended to do. I was going to talk to you first, and tell you everything that I was feeling. And, then..."

"And then what?"

Chloe shrugged, feeling flustered by the kisses they had shared. "I don't know. I saw you, and you looked so vulnerable... Like I had never seen you before... And there you were with your eyes and your lips, and something in me just HAD to do it."

Brady nodded in understanding and leaned against the railing. "I'm not complaining, Chloe. And whatever it is that you need to say to me... Say it now. I'm listening."

Chloe nodded slightly and took a deep breath in to calm her. She waited for her throat to freeze like usual, but it didn't. The words she had to say flowed easily this time, the ice broken by the kisses that she had planted on Brady.

"I love you, Brady. I may have only realized this recently, but part of me has known it all along. Nobody gets to me the way that you do. Nobody has ever made me smile and laugh like you do. Nobody makes me feel the way that you do. You showed me that I don't have to be anyone else but who I am to be loved. You have taught me more about myself in the time I've known you, then I could have learned in five lifetimes without you. And, even though I've pushed these feelings aside for so long... I know for sure that I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone, and I can't push that aside any longer. I've lied to myself just as much as you have, and I'm not going to do it any more. I need you, and I want you, and I love you.."

Chloe closed her eyes and smiled. She opened them after a moment and continued on. "I've wished for my entire life for just a few things for me. I wished to have friends like you, Shawn and Belle, and to have parents that care about me, and to get into Juilliard so I could have an opera career... And, after everything I've been through, I finally have all those things. And, I wished for you, Brady. I wished for someone that I could spend the rest of my life loving, and who would love me unconditionally in return."

Chloe walked towards him and took his hand in hers. "And if you just answer my question with the words that I see in your eyes, then I might just have everything that I've ever wished for."

Brady smiled at her and nodded. "Then go ahead and ask me."

"Do you love me, Brady? Do you love me the way that I love you?"

"Chloe Lane... Do you know how lucky we are?"

Chloe groaned in frustration. "Brady... Don't answer a question with a question."

Brady grinned and sustained a laugh. "I'm sorry. But, let me finish, please. Most people live an entire lifetime and never have their wishes and dreams come true. But, here we are, you and me... And, everything that I have ever wished for is right in front of me. I do love you, Chloe. I have loved you since the moment I first saw you on the pier. I'm sorry that it took this long for it to be said. You wished for me, and I have wished for you a million times over."

Chloe's look of fear turned into an expression of relief. "Oh thank God..."

"Why were you even worried, Chloe? You said you could see it in my eyes, and I hope you could see it in the way I held you and kissed you. "

"Because I still can't help but fear the worst in any situation. I knew what I thought I saw or felt, but I needed to hear the words. In the past, this kind of moment for me doesn't usually come without a price..."

Brady nodded and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Well, not anymore, Chloe. I love you, and I'm never going to leave you, and I'm never going to hurt you. Love doesn't always have to end with pain and misery. And, it won't this time."

Chloe smiled at him bashfully. "So, it's a happy ending for us?"

"Absolutely. No matter what happens in our future, you will always have my heart."

Chloe threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again. She felt a surge of joy start out at her toes and zig-zag it's way up to the top of her head. She had everything she had ever wanted right here, and she knew she would never have to be afraid again as long as she had Brady.

***

(More to come... That was just a short little tag to follow up on Chapter 19.)