“Are you done?” I asked finally, because if I didn’t say something, I was going to break.
His expression darkened. “Really? That’s your reaction? After everything I just told you, that’s how you’re going to play it?” He was seething. And fuck…it was sexy as hell.
“Eric.” I raised my voice, not wanting to poke the beast but needing his attention. “Did you not notice you’re standing beside a stack of boxes?”
That slowed him. Confusion flickered across his face as he finally glanced around the apartment.
The wall was lined with boxes—everything prepped for movers. If he’d stepped further in, he’d see only furniture and appliances remained. Everything else was packed and ready.
“What?” He looked genuinely thrown.
“Did you really think I’d just run away? Without even saying goodbye?”
“Yes. I thought you were scared.”
“I am. I’m really, hugely scared.” My stomach took flight. “I’ve never been more afraid in my entire life. Not even pregnant and alone.
“For the first time in years, I’ve let someone in.” The words tumbled out now that they’d started. “I’m putting my heart, my future, in someone else’s hands. Do you understand how terrifying that is for me?”
My fingers curled together under my chin, not dramatic, just desperate for him to see it. To see me. “But there’s something that scares me more. Running again. Shutting myself down. Locking everything up because it’s easier than risking it. I couldn’t do that this time. I wouldn’t survive it. Not now that I know what I’d be walking away from.”
His eyes searched mine, sharp and relentless, like he was testing every word for weakness.
I closed the space between us before I lost my nerve. My hands came up to his face, thumbs brushing the rough line of his jaw. He went still under my touch, but I could feel the tension humming in him.
I kissed him lightly, just once.
“I’m really fucking in love with you too,” I whispered. Honest words. The truest I’d given him. Without pretense or prelude.
His jaw flexed. His brow pulled tight. The look on his face shifted into something rawer, something almost pained.
Then his hands were on me.
He trapped my waist in his sublimely strong grip and pulled me flush against him, right where I belonged.
And he kissed me.
Not tentative. Not careful. It was deep and consuming, layered with frustration and relief and something possessive that made my knees weaken. Every time his mouth found mine, it felt inevitable.
When he pulled back, his forehead rested briefly against mine. “You’re not running away from me.”
“No. I’m running toward you. Looking to the future might be scary, but I know I want you in it. That’s practically all I know, but at least that part’s solid.”
“Christ, I’m an asshole.”
“No, you’re not.” I shook my head. “I should’ve told you what I was planning. Leaving like that was a jerk move. I didn’t even decide until yesterday morning. And I thought maybe I’d already screwed this up. I didn’t want to add to the stress of Day Zero or make it about me. It was supposed to be about Caleb.”
He held my gaze, still intense, still not letting me look away. “Couldn’t you have waited?”
“I should have. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t stand waiting and worrying in that hospital another day. You showed me my path, Eric. I didn’t want to wait to take it.”
“Shit.” His expression softened as he dragged a hand over the back of his neck. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. Should’ve given you the benefit of the doubt. I feel like a prick.”
“Can I make a confession?” A nervous heat crept up my cheeks, but I didn’t look away. “I kind of like it when you’re demanding. Even when you’re a bit of a jerk. It turns me on.”
A slow, dangerous smile curved his mouth. “You turned on now, beautiful girl?”
“Maybe.”
