I reach for him. “Dillon…”
He shakes his head. “No, seeing you faint scared me. Seeing that man sneaking into your window last night… it really fucked with me, London.”
I nod with understanding. “I know… me too.”
He shakes his head. “No, you don’t get it. If something happened to you, I…” He sucks in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “I don’t want to live in a world without you in it.”
I wait for him to smile, to laugh or something, but he just stares at me with a worried look on his face. “Hey… Dillon… I’m not going anywhere?—”
He cuts me off. “I love you.”
I rear back. “What? You?—”
He nods and takes a step toward me. “Yes, I love you, and I have for a long time. I know you can do better than me. I know you deserve more than I can give you. I know?—”
I bring my hand up and softly cover his mouth. “Stop. Don’t say that.”
He pulls it away and wraps his hand around my arm. “It’s true, I know it is. But I can’t walk away from you, London.”
I lean into him. “I don’t want you to walk away. I love you, too, Dillon. I’ve loved you for a long time.”
It’s like my words physically shake him, and he shudders a breath.
I look at his truck. “Where exactly were you planning on taking me?”
He looks at me. “I was going to take you to your favorite place. I wanted you to rest and relax… and then I was going to tell you that I love you. I was going to convince you that you should be with me.”
I laugh and put my arms around his neck. “I’m convinced.”
He puts his hands on my waist and holds me arm's length away from him. “I’m not joking, London.”
I grab his hands and wrap them around my waist as I lean into him. “I’m not joking either.”
He finally holds me to him, resting his chin on the top of my head. He breathes deeply, in and out. “This is not a fling. This isn’t a one-night stand or a let’s date and see what happens. I want a future with you.”
I lean my head back and see the sincerity on his face. “A future, huh?”
He nods. “Yeah, marriage, kids, the whole thing.”
It’s as if my heart is doing flips in my chest. “Okay.”
He tenses next to me. “Okay?”
I nod. “Yes. What? You think I’d say no? If so, you don’t know me at all. I’ve been trying to get your attention for almost a year now.”
His eyes glaze over. “Oh honey, you have no idea.”
I turn and loop arms with him. “So tell me, what is my favorite place? Where are we going?” I stop and look up at him. “You’re going too, right?”
He leans down, hooks an arm behind my legs, and picks me up. I giggle and hold on to him. As he carries me to the truck, he tells me all about it. “You remember when you raced in North Carolina at Classic Frontier Days?”
I nod. “I do.”
“You loved it there. And you were sad you couldn’t stay longer. I reserved us a room at that little hotel you thought was cute, and I booked some events I thought you’d like. No pressure, I just thought we could relax and spend some time together.”
He opens the door and slides me into the passenger seat of his truck. “I don’t have any clothes or anything?—”
He gestures to the back of the truck. “I packed you a bag.”
