Page 113 of Finding Forever

She drew in a slow breath. “Last night, after I came home, I lay in bed thinking about the wedding. And then I started thinking about you. About us.” Her voice caught. “For the first time, I let myself imagine what our lives might look like a year from now. Five years from now.”

Dave’s gaze stayed fixed on her.

“I imagined having dinner together and spending Christmas with Kayla, Tyler, and Mark. Waking up beside you.” A tear slipped down Beth’s cheek, and she brushed it away. “I imagined growing old with you.”

Dave drew a slow breath.

“And I wanted it.” The admission broke something open inside her. Beth pressed her fingertips against her lips, trying to steady herself. “I wanted all of it so much.”

Dave pushed himself out of the chair.

She immediately shook her head. “Don’t.”

He stopped.

Beth’s voice cracked. “If you touch me, I don’t think I’ll be able to say this.”

For several seconds, Dave simply stood there. Then he sat down again.

Beth wiped another tear from her cheek. “This morning, after Rosalind left, I looked at photographs of Jessie. I remembered our marriage. The plans we made. Everything we thought we’d still be doing now.” Her chest ached. “I still love him, Dave.”

Dave nodded. “I know.”

The quiet certainty of his answer startled her.

He held her gaze. “Of course you still love him.”

“But how can I love you, too?” The question escaped before she could stop it.

Dave went completely still.

Beth closed her eyes. There it was—the truth she’d spent all day trying not to face. When she looked at him again, Dave was watching her.

“You love me?”

Beth swallowed.

There was no point denying it now. “Yes.”

For one heartbeat, happiness crossed his face. Then he seemed to remember why she’d asked him to come over, and it disappeared.

Beth looked down. “That’s why I can’t see you anymore.”

Dave didn’t respond.

She forced herself to look at him. His face had gone very still. “I need some time.”

“How much time, Beth?”

“I don’t know.”

“A week? A month?”

“I don’t know.”

Dave rose and walked toward the fireplace. He rested one hand on the mantel before turning back to her. “Then take whatever time you need.”

Beth shook her head. “You don’t understand.”