I press my fingers against his lips. “I know what I deserve.” My hand is steady as I place it on his chest over his racing heart. “I don’t want perfect. I wantreal.I wantyou.”
His fists clench at his sides. His eyes flicker as if he’s losing the battle with himself.
“Someone made you think you were hard to love,” I say, knowing in my soul that the words are true as they leave my lips. “But I want all of it. All of you. The parts you protect. The parts you hide. I want what’s real. Messy. Brave. I’m not afraid of your edges, Nolan. I want them because they’re a part of who you are.”
He closes his eyes as if the force of those words physically hits him.
“You don’t have to protect me from this. Fromus,” I whisper. “I’m not afraid of what we are. Or what this could be.”
I raise my hands, cupping his face and forcing him to look at me. “I know you said when we do it, we do it right”—I press my forehead to his—“but Nolan,any way, any time with you is right.How could it not be?”
He doesn’t reply. Instead, he turns away, scrubbing a hand over his face, shoulders hunched like he’s carrying something heavier than just a decision.
I freeze, my breath caught somewhere between hope and humiliation.
He’s rejecting me.
It lands like a blow to the ribs. I nod, blinking too fast, and force myself to turn toward the door. At least I tried. At least I said what I needed to say.
“Sally.”
My name is hoarse as it leaves his mouth.
I turn. He’s looking at me like I’m the first clear sky he’s seen in a long time.
“Come here,”he says softly.
Not a question.
Not a command.
An invitation.
I go.
He meets me halfway, like neither of us can bear the distance.
His hand lifts to my cheek, tentative at first, like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he touches me wrong.
“You see me more clearly than anyone ever has,” he murmurs. “But there are things you don’t know. About Tangle Creek. About why I left. About me.”
I reach for his hand, threading our fingers together. “I don’t need to know everything to knowyou.I see how you handle that car. How you treat me. Your care. Your patience. Your quiet loyalty that speaks louder than anything else.”
I step even closer, my voice low but certain. “I see you now. And I accept every part of what I see.”
That’s what breaks him.
He pulls me in like he’s been drowning and I’m the surface. His mouth finds mine in a desperate, needy kiss. I kiss him back with everything I have, every trembling ounce of want and promise.
He pulls away, resting his forehead against mine. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”
I smile. “I think I do.”
All hesitation is gone as he slips his arms under my legs and lifts me effortlessly.
I gasp, looping my arms around his neck. “Where are we going?”
“Somewhere I can show you all the things I haven’t figured out how to say,” he replies, quickly locking the shop doors before carrying me into a side room.
