She held onto his stare a moment longer before turning and walking away. He watched her go, his feet feeling as though they were encased in two tons of concrete.
Stop thinking for once, and go after her,you idiot!
For the first time maybe ever, Emmett allowed himself to stop thinking and simply feel. The second he did, those blocks of imaginary concrete crumbled around him, and he was finally free.
In a rush, he went after her, reaching out to grab hold of her hand. Not forcefully, of course, or in any way that might cause even the slightest amount of pain.
“Don’t leave.” He kept a gentle hold on her hand.
Janie stopped moving and turned his way. “Emmett?”
“I don’t want you to go.”
She stared back at him with a beseeching stare. “Then tell me truth about why you’ve been pushing me away.”
You can do this.
He was a Marine for crying out loud. He’d literally looked death in the eyes and survived more than once in his forty-two years. Emmett would take a bullet for the woman without so much as a moment’s hesitation.
But this? He’d spent his entire life believing this was the kind of thing that made men like him weak. But as he stood with her hand in his and those incredible blue eyes pleading with him to be completely honest, he realized he’d give her the moon if she asked.
I’ll give her any damn thing she wants.
“I was scared.”
There. He’d said it. Now all he could do was wait.
“Scared?” Janie’s brows dipped together in a crinkled V. “Of what?”
Just tell her.
“I’m scared oflosing you.”
Her features softened with a shimmering stare that held no hint of pity, and for that, he was thankful.
“You’re not going to lose me,” she whispered, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m fine.”
“And I’m damn grateful for that, but . . .”
“But what?”
Emmett drew in a steeling breath. “Everyone I’ve truly cared about has died. My mom. Fellow Marines.” His throat worked a hard swallow. “I already told you about my dad.”
“I remember.” She nodded. “You said he was an alcoholic?”
“The asshole may technically still be breathing, but the alcohol took him years ago. So yeah.” He gave one shoulder a shrug. “Aside from my team, I’ve lost everyone else I truly cared about.”
“I’m not everyone, Emmett.”
He gave her a half-hearted grin. “I know that ,sweetheart.” The endearment slipped out. “Trust me.”
“I do.”
In that very moment, something profound happened, though no one knew it but him. Emmett was standing there, staring back at the most incredible woman he’d ever known. Emotions unlike any he’d experienced in the past took over, and he let the rest of himself go.
“I don’t know what this is that’s happening between us,” he told her. “But I’ve never felt anything like it before. And when that shot rang out, for a second, I thought . . .”
“Emmett—”
