Despite the way my heart ached at the underlying and unspoken issues she had, my body still filled with heat at the idea of Elizabeth wanting me. Lily wanted me.
Main quest: Prove Elizabeth’s own worth to her. Side quest: Try not to scare her away.
My brain struggled to figure out how to respond to that, so without saying anything, I pulled her off the counter and twirled her around so I could cradle her in my arms. I would not go any further without this woman understanding how much she meant to me. Howworth itshe was.
While walking, I dragged her as close to my chest as possible and was pleased when her lips placed a soft kiss on my collarbone. Shivers spread from that very spot right through my entire body. It was a relief knowing she was struggling to resist me as much as I struggled to resist her.
When we got to my bedroom, I laid her down on the bed, and she tried dragging me toward her.
I pulled back. “No, no, no.”
Her crestfallen face crushed me. Elizabeth had been hurt in the past. I could tell that much from her behavior, but it ran deep. She hid it well and managed to keep up that sunshine personality everyone adored.
“Oh, then why bring me here?” She curled up, lifting her knees to her chest.
“I should have said, ‘not yet.’” I placed a soft kiss on both knees.
The smile was returning, and I spun around to grab the scribble-covered Arch D sheet. My stomach turned with embarrassment, and every part of me wanted to hide it away and never show her how deep my neurosis ran.
I extended my hand with the drawing. She took it in and first looked at the road layout.
“Other side,” I choked out.
Her gaze fell on her names written in the top center.
ELIZABETH AKA PANCAKESAREELITE AKA LILY AKA THE ONLY WOMAN I’VE EVER TRULY BEEN IN LOVE WITH
“Don’t you ever call yourself unworthy of my love when you’re the only reason I am sure I can feel that sort of affection,” I managed to say when my words returned.
Her beautiful, soft pink lips parted while she stared at the mind map I’d given her.
“You don’t know the power you hold.” I turned around, unable to watch her eyes when I said this. “Only you can control a room by just walking into it. And I don’t mean that because you’re a Gordon-Bettencourt. I didn’t even know you were a Gordon-
Bettencourt when we first met and neither did the team on-site or my mom. Okay, my friends knew, but that’s different.”
I was rambling and pacing, but I couldn’t stop either. “It’s not even because you’re stupidly gorgeous, even though, you know, it helps, but…” I shook my head, trying to clear it. “But you’re you. You shimmer and shine, Elizabeth. You’re like the stars on a dark night. Something to make a wish on.” I sighed before looking at her. “Elizabeth, I think you’ve experienced awful things because someone gave you these complexes and…”
Her eyes were wide, brows drawn to the center.
She was exquisite.
My chest was heaving at this point. “You do have weaknesses. No one’s perfect. I’ve had to rewash certain dishes.”
She giggled, and it was all I needed to finally meet her gaze.
“Lincoln,” she whispered, “what is this?”
I dragged my hands over my face. If there was a chance Elizabeth could love me, I may as well let her know what she was getting herself into. “I was in the process of calculating the likelihood of you falling in love with me and staying in love with me. There were four scenarios I wanted to explore.” I pointed at the bottom row.
No contact, and I stay in love with her
Stay friends online and in person, and I stay in love with her
We fall in love, break up, and I stay in love with her
We fall in love, get married, do all the things, and I get to love her forever
My cheeks were on fire, and I resisted the urge to grab the sheet of paper, throw it through the window, and claim that it was all a joke. But her painted pink fingernail dragged across the fourth scenario.
