“You made your feelings—or rather your lack of feelings—clear. It’s best if we leave it at that.” She folded a white blouse. “If you’re worried about me, don’t be. I might have wished for a different ending, but I’m not about to sit around mourning the loss of an unrequited love.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Go find him.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Right.” Kelsey dropped the neatly folded shirt back on the bed. “Somewhere in the world is a man who’ll want the love I have to give. All I need to do is find him.”
“What if he finds you?”
The intensity in Will’s eyes made Kelsey swallow hard. “That’ll make my job easier.”
“You never take the easy way out. Not the way I do.”
She glanced up at him. “When have you—”
“Every chance I’ve gotten.” His jaw tightened. “My entire life, I’ve had things handed to me. This house. My job. Even Sara. Remember when you asked me about planning my wedding?”
Kelsey nodded.
“Not only did I not help plan the wedding, but I wasn’t even the one who proposed. Sara made it easy for me. She had our entire life mapped out from the time we met. She made sure we stayed together, and nothing went wrong. I didn’t have to do anything except sit back and enjoy the ride. It was so easy with her.” He took a step toward Kelsey. “You aren’t easy.”
“Never claimed to be.”
“You’ve never claimed to be anything other than what you are. I respect that about you. Me, on the other hand…I’ve been hiding. Hiding from the truth, hiding from my fears.”
She stepped back. “You don’t have to tell me this.”
“Yes, I do.” He took a deep breath. “I want another chance.”
Her pulse raced so fast she thought her veins might explode. She took a calming breath. And another. “I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can.” He stared into her eyes, and her resolve started to melt. Kelsey looked away. “We’ve both changed,” he said.
“But not enough.” She picked up a turtleneck and folded it. “Not enough for it to make a difference.”
“Give me the chance. Please.”
The sincerity of his plea touched her soul. Her heart pounded, but something—no, someone—held her back. Sara. “I won’t compete with a ghost. I can’t…”
“You won’t have to,” he said. “I loved Sara. She’ll always hold a special place in my heart. But I’ve been hiding behind that love and this ring.” He removed the gold band from his finger and held it up. “I just never realized it until I met you.
“I used Sara and our marriage to keep myself safe, keep my heart safe. After she died, I was afraid. Afraid of loving and losing again. When you asked me if I dated, I didn’t tell you that the only women I dated were those who reminded me of Sara. I wanted to replace her, replace what we shared. I thought if I could, things would be okay and easy again. That I could love and pretend I hadn’t lost everything when she died. But I failed miserably. You can’t replace someone, and you sure can’t find perfection. Sara wasn’t perfect. Our marriage wasn’t perfect, but I couldn’t see that. I didn’t want to see it.” He placed his wedding ring in his pocket. “Until you.”
A lump formed in Kelsey’s throat. Her knees wobbled. She sank to the bed, and Midas snuggled against her thigh.
Will walked toward her. “Sara’s death. My mother’s stroke. I can pretend all I want, but it doesn’t change the fact you can’t control what happens in life.”
“Love holds no guarantees, either.”
“It doesn’t. No matter how hard you try, you can still lose.” He stared into Kelsey’s eyes. “I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you.” Will reached out and caught her hand in his. “We haven’t known each other long, but I love you. I tried to fight it. I tried to pretend I didn’t. But I do. I love you.”
Kelsey sat speechless, her mouth gaping. She never expected to hear those words from Will’s lips. She never expected three little words to have such an impact on her. Yet it still wasn’t enough. She refused to be another attempt for him to replace the love he’d lost. “Why? Why do you love me?”
The edges of his mouth curled up. “I love the way your eyes light up when something pleases you and how your eyebrows knit together when something doesn’t. I love the way you make coffee and the lipstick marks you leave on the mug. I love how you can be cynical yet wildly romantic about weddings at the same time. Want me to go on?”
She nodded.
