He fingered his silk tie.“I had a job interview in San Angelo this morning.I borrowed these clothes from Kyle.”
San Angelo was a mid-sized town about two hours away.“What kind of job?”
“Mounted patrol for San Angelo PD.”
“Mounted patrol?Are you able to ride?”
“I’ve been cleared for full activity.No restrictions.”
“What about Houston?”
“I was offered a remote position there.I’d rather transfer to San Angelo, but I wanted to talk to you first.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I wasn’t sure you were staying in Lost Lake,” he said, meeting her gaze.“I wouldn’t take a job in San Angelo if you were planning to move to Austin.Or if you said I didn’t have a chance.”
“You want a chance… with me?”
“Of course I want a chance with you,” he said, his brow furrowed.“My feelings haven’t changed.”
She rose to her feet, flustered.His eyes were too mesmerizing.He had a good excuse for ghosting her.She was desperately in love with him, and barely able to contain herself.She wanted to embrace him, to kiss his tortured face, and make up for lost time.Even so, she hesitated.Their summer fling had ended with a bang—literally.He wasn’t an easy man to love.He’d lied to her and broken her heart.What if she let him back into her life, and he did it again?She would never recover.
“I want to be close enough to see you on a regular basis, but far enough to keep you at a safe distance if something comes up.San Angelo is a growing city with a substantial police force and an FBI field office.I’ll be in good hands.”
“You think Aiden Mendez is still a threat?”
“I think an abundance of caution is appropriate under the circumstances.”
“You haven’t fulfilled your promise.”
“What promise?”
“To spend every day trying to make me happy.”
He raked a hand through his hair, mussing its careless perfection.“How did you hear about that?”
“I read the transcript.”
His brows rose with surprise.
“Are you afraid he’ll kill you, or steal me away?”
“I’m not afraid he’ll kill me,” he said.“I’m afraid you won’t take me back, and I’ll die from wanting you.”
Her breath hitched in her throat.She set the bottle on the kitchen counter and bit down on her lip as tears flooded her eyes.
He abandoned his seat at the table and came toward her.She could feel the heat of his body as he stood behind her, not quite touching.“I’m sorry I left the way I did,” he said, “and I’m sorry I couldn’t call.I don’t expect you to welcome me with open arms or forgive everything I did as Paul Murphy.But I’m hoping you’ll try, because I can’t live without you.I will never forget you.I will never move on.”He placed his hand on her shoulder.“I love you.I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
She wiped the moisture from her cheeks and turned to face him.She studied his hard, handsome features.
Paul cleared his throat and continued.“I wasn’t pretending to be a different person with you.I was being myself, and I’m not proud of that.I’m the guy who was so intent on avoiding relationships that I made up the termbunny, and used it like a shield.I’m the guy who didn’t care that his last girlfriend went home to her husband, as long as she didn’t expect a commitment from me.”
“You’re also the guy who got shot trying to help a woman and a child,” she said softly.“You’re the guy who might have bled to death because you attempted to staunch that woman’s wound instead of your own.”She lifted her fingertips to his strong jaw.“You’re the man who rescued me from Bennett.”
“My therapist calls it a savior complex.”
Vanessa smiled through her tears.“You look thinner.”
