Sawyer moves so he’s standing directly in front of me, hands braced on either side of me against the car. I can feel the heat radiating off him. My breath catches. “How about you let me worry about what it costs me?”
“But what if—”
“Alice.” His voice is firm but gentle, lightly grasping my chin between his thumb and index finger. “I’m a grown man. I can make my own decisions about who I want in my life.”
“Sawyer—”
“I’m not walking away from you because your mother wants me to.”
“What if she keeps causing trouble?”
“Then we’ll deal with it. But I’m not going anywhere.”
He leans closer, and I can smell his cologne, can see the determination in his dark brown eyes.
“Alice, I care about you. A lot. And I’m not going to let Tracy or anyone else mess that up.”
My heart speeds up when he looks at me like this. “You care about me?”
“Of course I do. Since the day we met, when that customer was acting like a complete ass.”
Despite everything, I smile at that. “That was embarrassing.”
“That was when I knew you were different.”
“Different how?”
“Different from anyone I’ve ever met.”
I want to believe him. I want to stop running from this, from him, from the way he makes me feel.
“My mother isn’t going to stop,” I say quietly.
“I know.”
“She’s going to keep trying to cause problems for you.”
“Let her try.”
“Sawyer—”
“Alice, are you going to keep running from me?”
I look into his eyes and see everything I’ve been afraid to want. Someone who thinks I’m worth it. Someone who won’t let other people decide what I deserve.
But I also see the risk I’m asking him to take just by caring about me.
“I don't know how to stop being scared,” I admit quietly. I push my glasses up my nose.
“You don't have to stop being scared. You just have to stop running.”
My chest tightens. “I'm not used to trusting really anyone.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Alice.”
I want to believe him. God, I want to believe him so badly it hurts.
“Can we… can we take this slow? I mean, I’ll stop avoiding you, but I need time to figure out how to trust that you won’t change your mind about me.”
