“Oh, come on,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“You have no idea how much time I’ve spent looking at you at your desk.” I smiled. “At this point, I think I can sculpt the back of your head blindfolded, I know it so well.”
“That’s so weird, but flattering.” Ina shrugged. “So you’re saying I’m a distraction?”
“Yes, the best kind of distraction,” I said. “I needed someone to drag me out of my rut. You pulled me out and allowed me to see how much I was missing in life.”
She crossed her arms. “Your life seemed pretty great already when I showed up.”
“Yes, I thought things couldn’t get better for me, but your smile taught me the difference between being alive and living.”
Her face lit up at my words.
“See?” I asked, returning her look. “My chest feels full when you smile at me like that, and I don’t know how I ever got through my days without it.”
I reached out and took her hands in mine. She let me.
“I screwed things up,” I continued, my voice rougher now. “I don’t know if I’ve ever properly apologized for it, but I’m sorry for those things I said. I hurt you in ways I never wanted to hurt anyone, let alone the person I love most in the world.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. I reached up to wipe it away with my thumb.
“Love isn’t data,” I whispered. “It’s not compatibility scores or algorithms or logic. It’s you. It’s this.” I brought her hand up to my chest, so she could feel my heartbeat. “It’s the way my pulse races when I see you. It’s how nothing else matters when you’re in the room.”
“You needed an algorithm to tell you we were compatible,” she said, her voice unsteady. “My mind keeps circling back to that. You couldn’t just trust what you felt.”
“You’re right. I’ve spent my whole life not trusting my own heart.” I pulled her closer. “I don’t need data to tell me I love you. I don’t need proof that this will work. I just need you. That’s it. That’s all I need. It’s all I want. Every morning and every night.”
She was crying openly now, and I was pretty sure I was close to joining her.
“I don’t know if I can trust you,” she whispered.
“All I’m asking for is a chance to let me prove it. Every single day. For as long as it takes.” I pressed my forehead against hers. “I’m choosing you, Ina. Over the company. Over everything. This is just me, terrified, and in love, and completely yours if you’ll have me.”
Ina didn’t move. Her hands were intertwined with mine. Tears streaked down her face. Her silence felt exactly like rejection.
I hadn’t been a romantic for long, but now that I was, I had jumped in with both feet. Meaning I had never actuallyconsidered she would flat out reject me. It was going to be a sad walk down five flights of stairs if she asked me to leave now.
“You’re an idiot,” she said.
A tiny shiver of relief washed over me, but I didn’t dare latch onto it quite yet.
“It’s something I’ve been discovering about myself recently,” I said with a smirk. “Turns out I’m not always a genius. On some topics, some might even call me inexperienced.”
She smiled a little. “Dane Kavanagh, notorious ladies’ man, claiming to be inexperienced?”
I shrugged and nudged her. “When it comes to love and relationships, yeah, I’m like a little baby bird. I just hopped out of the nest and I’m flapping my tiny wings like crazy.”
She stared at me, searching my face for something. I let down every guard I had ever put in place. I let her see my pain and hope. I let the passion blaze in my eyes.
“You’ve lost me,” Ina said, and my soul deflated. I had given it my best shot, and she still wanted me to walk away.
“I understand,” I said.
She frowned at me. “What? No, I mean I don’t understand your metaphor. Like am I supposed to catch you? Am I supposed to be a soft place to land? What’s next?”
I looked into her eyes and took a risk. “Kiss me?”
She rolled her eyes, then crashed her lips against mine like she couldn’t hold back any longer. I met her just as fiercely. I had never felt anything like the joy she lit inside me.
