And my confession hangs in the steam-filled air.
Raw.
Unplanned.
Completely true.
My chest heaves as the realization settles over me.
Because it isn’t the giddy love of a teenage girl.
Not the hopeful kind I once believed in with Mike.
This is different.
Stronger.
Grounded.
This is love built from wreckage.
From second chances.From choosing someone every single day.
And somewhere along the way, without even realizing it—J.T.Lawrence became the center of my world.
I close my eyes, overwhelmed.
Because loving him doesn’t feel like losing myself.It feels like finally becoming the woman I was meant to be.And I know I never want to be anyone else again.
Because accepting his love?Acknowledging it?That’s just the biggest honor of my life.
It’s like finding freedom.Peace.
I might be forty-two, but for the first time in my life I know what unconditional love is.
And it’s fucking amazing.
Chapter42
J.T
“Ilove you.”
For a second, I think the roar in my ears is the water pounding against the tile.
Then I realize it’s my own damn heartbeat.
Kelly’s words hang between us in the steam-filled air.
Three simple words.
But they hit me like a freight train.
She says it.
Then, she screams it.
And I’m glad our bedroom suite is soundproof.
