If only it were that easy.
She’d always felt pressure to adhere to a certain set of rules. Because her mother hadn’t been born into wealth—but had instead scraped her way into it—she was even more adamant that Leah maintain an air of decorum.
She could remember her mother scolding her for coming home with a tear in the knee of her stockings and her Sunday dress all muddied up from playing on the jungle gym in the park, instead of sitting prim and proper on the swings. Prim and proper had never come naturally to her. Leah now recognized that she’d allowed Derrick to place those same constraints on her.
Never again.Never.
“You’re right,” Leah said. “I’ve been putting on this act for so long, I’m unsure who the real Leah is. Maybe it’s time I start doing some of those crazy, adventurous things I’ve always wanted to do.”
“There’s no ‘maybe’ about it,” Caleb replied. “Use this weekend to reconnect with the real Leah. If it’s adventure you’re looking for, go out there and find it. And if you need someone to show you the way, I’m right here.”
His words brought a level of comfort and excitement to Leah that she hadn’t felt in so long, she’d forgotten that she could feel this way. Had Derrick ever offered to just be there for her? In anything?
“I appreciate the offer,” Leah said, a grin drifting across her lips. “I just may take you up on it.”
The warmth radiating from his sincere smile heated her from the inside out. Leah still wasn’t sure what to make of the feelings that had begun to stir within her. This connection was different from anything she’d ever experienced with Derrick. There was an honesty to it. Not only could she be herself around Caleb, but she could tell that’s what he wanted. She didn’t have to pretend to be anyone else. She didn’t have to fit a mold.
Could this be real? Or was her bruised heart reading too much into it?
She needed to be careful. One false step and she could be in for a world of hurt.
