So much more.

“Kerry, are you still there?” her mother asked.

Kerry opened her mouth, but no words came out at first. Only something that sounded more like a choked sob. “Yes, I’m still here.”

“I know you can’t control what Colleen does, and I can’t either,” her mother said. “But I just can’t stand the thought of both of my daughters being hurt the way I was. I can’t stand to see you go through what I went through, honey.”

Kerry’s tongue felt like crumbling cardboard in her mouth, and her vocal cords felt as though they were being strangled shut. But she knew she had to get out the words that her mother needed to hear.

“I promise.” Kerry’s voice didn’t sound like her own. “I promise I won’t make a mistake with a man like him.”

And there was only one way to make sure she didn’t. Tonight, when she and Adam met at another hotel, she was going to have to do the one thing she’d been trying to convince herself didn’t need to happen: She was going to end their arrangement.

She’d be brave enough to do it face-to-face, and she would also make sure he knew that they’d absolutely continue to be friends and work on the wedding and the house, just as they’d previously discussed. But they wouldn’t meet to have sex again.

And she wouldn’t keep falling harder and harder for him with every kiss, every touch, every moment she spent lying in his arms, wishing she could stay right there with him forever.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Adam figured he should have been nervous about seeing Kerry tonight, considering he was about to declare his love for her. Instead, he couldn’t stop grinning, nerves the furthest thing from his mind.

Everything that had happened between the two of them since the day they’d met—even the fact that Rafe and Brooke had picked her as their wedding planner out of all the wedding planners in Seattle—all of it now made sense.

He and Kerry had been meant to meet and fall in love. He had never even come close to falling for any of the other women he’d been with, because he’d been waiting for her.

And she’d been waiting for him, too. He was absolutely sure of it.

After all, when two people had as strong a connection as they’d had from the first moment they’d so much as looked at each other, there was no way in hell that they were supposed to be with anyone else.

Adam had always been fully supportive of his cousins and siblings who’d fallen in love, but he’d never truly understood how strong that love could be. It took you over, body, mind, and soul, but you weren’t just totally okay with it, you were downright psyched to have found such powerful, real love.

Not to mention the fact that in-love sex was so freaking hot.

Who would have thought?

Adam was still grinning as he walked into the lobby of the hotel, mulling over the only remaining big decision for the night: Should he tell Kerry he was in love with her before or after they went upstairs and ripped off each other’s clothes? Although, since telling her he loved her before, during, and after all sounded good, he figured there was really no point in trying to decide now, was there?

Turning to look out the big front windows to the sidewalk, his heartbeat immediately kicked up as he saw a flash of long dark hair and legs that went on forever beneath a soft pink dress. His grin widened as she stepped inside the building.

“Kerry.” Damn, he loved her name. Loved saying it in public—and when they were making love and he couldn’t get enough of her. Loved knowing that as long as he didn’t screw everything up, one day there’d be Sullivan after it.

As soon as she heard her name and their eyes met, she stopped short. A couple behind her would have run her down if Adam hadn’t pulled her out of their path and into his arms.

“Adam.” She swallowed hard as she blinked up at him. Her eyes were huge in her face, and she looked pale.

“What’s wrong?” But it wasn’t hard for him to guess. “Is it Colleen?”

Her face crumpled. “Her ex came back, the one who cheated on her and drove her nearly crazy for the past few months. They’re getting married in Las Vegas tonight. At some Elvis-themed chapel. She sprang it on me today at a café just down the street.”

“Jesus.” He stroked her hair as he brought her closer. He wished she’d called him instead of bottling it up until now, but he understood that sometimes you needed some time to process things before you called in the support team. It was the same reason he’d waited until yesterday to speak with his father about Kerry—because he’d needed to turn the situation around and around inside his own head until he figured out how to frame it with words. “You’ve had a hell of a day, haven’t you?”

She took a step back so that she wasn’t quite in the circle of his arms anymore. “I suppose it’s better than the chances she was taking every Friday night at those awful bars. But he hurt her so badly when he left before that all I can do is worry about how hard she’s going to be hit when he does it again.”

Not if Colleen’s ex screwed her around again. When.

Adam knew better than to try to stand up for the guy, especially considering he’d never met him. But he also hated knowing that Kerry was so torn up over her sister’s decision. “You’ve always been there for her. If something does happen, you’ve got to trust that she knows you’ll be there for her again.” And so will I, he added silently.