“I don’t use candles.”
“Then why did you buy it?”
“Just wanted to be sure you had to come back to my house to deliver it.”
“You what?”
“All those things I bought from you—the candy bars, the fruit, the butter braid breads—Everything I bought was to make sure you came back. I’ve been attracted to you for far too long.”
Thinking back, I say, “I sold you this candle when I was sixteen.”
“Shhh…” He puts a finger to my lips. “It was wrong.”
“So is kidnapping. You’re more of a bad boy than I thought.”
His fingers cup my chin, forcing me to face him. “I’m not proud of the way I feel.” He lowers his hand, brushing his fingers over the reddened skin on my arm. “Let me tend to that.”
Do I understand what’s happening? Have we been feeling the same thing? Could he be the reason I was drawn back here?
“It’s fine.” I instinctively try to cover the rough patch, but his hand is still in place.
He shifts his fingers to take my hand. “I don’t like admitting that I’ve had improper thoughts and that I’ve done improper things. I’m an upstanding guy. And maybe that’s why I can’t lie to you. I’m in love with you, Abby.”
“How can you be sure?” This might be more of a question for myself because I’ve done nothing to earn his love.
“I remember every detail of every moment I’ve had with you. It pained me to wait when all I wanted to do was make you my wife and fill you with babies.”
The record-screech moment I’m experiencing must be obvious. He steps back.
“You what?” I ask.
He shakes his head and lowers it. He hasn’t taken his cowboy hat off and I can no longer see his eyes. “I’m being honest. It’s what I want with you. It’s what made me kidnap you and bring you here. I don’t want one night. I want one lifetime. Or more if I can figure out how to pull it off.”
I’m too dumbfounded to speak.
He meets my gaze and tucks my hair behind my ear. “I remember that awful, artificially blue-dyed daisy you wore over your ear at graduation.”
Heat rises in my cheeks. “That was my big rebellion. We weren’t supposed to decorate our caps so I wore that brightblue flower, figuring it would stand out against my red cap and gown.”
“It stood out, all right. It brought out the blue of your eyes.”
“I saw you after the ceremony. You were a few feet away then you rushed off. Why were you there? Did you have a relative graduating?”
“I was there for you. I was going to ask you out that day. But as I approached, you were all starry-eyed, talking to one of your friend’s parents about heading off to college in a week. I believe your exact words were that you were eager to get out of this godforsaken town—”
I finish the sentence. “So I could pursue my dreams. I did. And it turns out I don’t know what I want. I’m so confused.”
“You don’t have to be confused.” He motions around the room. “Stay here with me. Let me take care of you. Let me give you everything you’ve ever needed or wanted. There’s no reason you need to live in that crappy-ass little apartment, as you call it. This can be yours. I’ll even let you do it on a trial run. You can have your own bedroom. Whatever you want. Just give me a chance.”
His comment earlier about having lived here my entire life and knowing his character… I do, which means I can trust what he’s saying even if I don’t understand why.
Perhaps it’s delirium, but I quit denying this thing that’s always been between us. “What if I don’t want my own bedroom?”
“You mean…?” He wraps me in a giant embrace.
Snuggled against his chest, feeling like I’m where I belong for the first time ever, I’m full of confidence. “There is something I’ve always wanted you to do.”
“Anything.”
