“Because after everything they did to you…” My voice lowers. “You still chose kindness.”
That hits her hard.
I see it.
Right in the center of her chest.
And suddenly the space between us changes.
The air.
The breathing.
The way she’s looking at me now.
Oh hell.
I know this moment.
I’ve felt it building for weeks.
Her gaze drops briefly to my mouth.
Then lifts again.
Question.
Fear.
Want.
All mixed together.
“Hannah,” I say softly.
She swallows hard.
“What if this is real?”
The question nearly wrecks me.
Because she sounds terrified to hope.
I slide my thumb slowly along her cheek.
“It is.”
Her breath catches.
Then she whispers the words that finally destroy every wall I had left.
“I don’t remember what safety felt like before you.”
That’s it.
Done.
Absolutely done.
