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There wasn’t a turquoise center stone that would do her justice, but I’d mixed a few in with the smaller accent diamonds. The center stonehadto be a big ass diamond. Well, at least it had to be forme.
If she wanted something else, I’d be happy to accommodate her.
Anything she wanted.
Everything she wanted.
If she’d just say she was fucking mine and put me out of my misery, I’d make damn sure I never saw that mournful, broken look in her eyes again.
It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop as Vanna stared at the box.
My heart was pounding so hard that I wasn’t sure that I wouldn’t have a heart attack and keel over in another minute or two if she didn’t say something soon.
She’d be perfectly justified if she told me to fuck off after I’d been such a dick for the last two weeks.
But Christ! I really hoped that she wouldn’t.
“You’ll never be able to save me from every single bit of pain or danger in my life, Chase,” she mentioned in a less angry tone.
“Maybe not, but I’ll sure as hell give it my best shot,” I said stubbornly. “If I can’t prevent the pain, I’ll be there with you, Vanna, good or bad. I know I’ve acted like an idiot. I guess I was terrified that you were in danger because you were with me. I hate what happened at the restaurant.”
She raised a brow. “So you were planning on dumping me because of that?”
I swallowed hard. “Yes! No! Oh, fucking hell! I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m crazy in love with you. My head wasn’t on straight after that happened.”
She kept holding the box tightly in her hand but didn’t open it.
Vanna took a deep breath as she whispered, “I was in love with you, too.”
Was? She was in love with me?
Oh, hell, no. That wasn’t going to fly. Shestillneeded to love me.
“Do I take it you’re not in love with me anymore?” I asked hoarsely, that possible heart attack starting to look more like a reality.
“Chase, you can’t just close me off when you’re worried or upset. We’re supposed to be partners.”
My gut rolled as her tears just kept coming.
“Vanna,” I said huskily, really needing to hear the answer to my question.
She held up a hand. “Wait. This is really important to me. I thought you didn’t want me anymore. I thought you wanted me to go. I thought you realized that you made a mistake when you asked me to stay. It hurt me, Chase. I never want to feel like that again. It ripped my heart out. I’m not afraid of beingwithyou. I’m afraid of beingwithoutyou.”
I got exactly what she was saying.
It was crystal clear.
I felt the same damn way.
I was also now completely aware that shestillloved me, but just hadn’t uttered those words…yet.
I knew because Vanna and I were connected.
Yeah, I’d damaged that connection for a short time, but it was still there.
“It won’t happen again, sweetheart. I swear,” I vowed, meaning every single word. I’d learned my lesson about just how many misunderstandings could come from silence.
She raised a brow. “Promise?”
