Chapter 42
Chase
Finn looked like he wanted to throw up or run or scream. I wasn’t sure which.
I watched him freeze, his body going rigid in my arms. His eyes were wide, his lips parted, and I could feel his chest rising and falling with quick breaths.
Oh God. Did I just screw this all up? Was that too soon? I should have waited, should have—
“You—” Finn’s voice cracked. “You what?”
My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might shatter into a thousand pieces.
“I’m in love with you, Finn,” I said again, more certain this time. “I’ve been trying not to fall. I told myself it was too soon, that we’d only been dating for a few months, that I should wait, but I can’t wait anymore. I love you. I’m in love with you. I just . . . I needed you to know that.”
Finn swallowed hard.
His eyes were bright—too bright, like he washolding back tears.
“You love me,” he whispered.
“Yes.”
“You’re in love with me.”
“Yes.”
“Chase—”
“You don’t have to say it back,” I said quickly, panic rising in my chest. “I’m not saying it to make you feel obligated. If you don’t feel the same, that’s fine. I’ll be fine. I’m saying it because it’s true and because I want you to know and—”
He kissed me.
Hard and desperate.
His hands flew up to grip my face like he was trying to hold on to something solid.
I made a sound—surprise or relief or something in between—and kissed him back just as desperately, pouring everything I felt into that kiss, trying to show him what the words could never capture.
When he pulled back, I was staring at him with what must have been complete shock.
“I love you, too,” he said, the words tumbling out in a rush. “I love you. I think I’ve been in love with you for weeks, but I was too terrified to admit it because what if you didn’t feel the same way? What if I scared you off? What if—”
I kissed him again, cutting off his rambling,as my heart soared.
Finn loved me.
“You could never scare me off,” I said against his lips. “Never.”
“God, I love you,” he said again, and I could hear the wonder in his voice, like he couldn’t quite believe he could say it. “I love you so much it’s kind of terrifying.”
“Good terrifying or bad terrifying?”
“The best terrifying.”
I laughed, a bright, genuine sound that came from somewhere deep in my chest.
He pulled us close, and I held him like something precious.
