Page 57 of Enemies Under One Roof

His lips brushed her hair, his empathetic words a balm to her battered, aching heart.

He wasn’t running from the room, treating her like she’d grown horns. Instead, he tended to her with such heartfelt kindness and concern, it dislodged something burrowed deep inside and she drew in her first real breath in years.

‘Please tell me you get that?’ he asked softly.

Like a glimmer of light breaking through the darkness, she thought she did. A little.

‘Yes,’ she sniffed. Exhaustion hit, and she wanted to burrow against Ethan, have him hold her forever.

‘You’ve carried this guilt around, all these years?’

She nodded. ‘And I’ve never told anyone. Only you.’

‘Oh, sweetheart. Thank you for telling me. For trusting me enough to tell me.’ His deep voice cracked, and he squeezed her, transferring some of his strength into her.

‘I wanted to tell you, but I was scared you’d judge me.’

‘Annie! Never.’

His lips brushed against her hair again and she felt safe for the first time in years. He wasn’t judging her, he understood.

She leant back to look up at him, her eyes watery and he gently brushed away the tears on her cheeks.

‘There’s more,’ she said.

He shifted slightly but didn’t let go of her, or even loosen his hold. ‘Okay.’ He nodded, his mouth pinched.

‘The day I buried my parents…’ She swallowed painfully and forced herself to go on. ‘I made a pact promising I’d never allow myself to fall in love, to have what they had, because I didn’t deserve it. That was my way of honouring them after what I’d done.’

‘Please tell me you no longer believe that?’ His words were choked with dismay, a muscle jerking in his cheek, his face grey.

‘I did. It’s why I left, no ran, from WillowGlen three nights ago. I knew I could never truly be a part of your life because of what I’d done. I’d never deserve you. I ran for my life, because that was the night I realised—’ she took a deep breath ‘—that I love you, Ethan. So very much.’

* * *

Ethan stared at Annie, suddenly terrified he was hallucinating. ‘You love me?’

‘Yes,’ she said, terror etched on her face. ‘I know it was only meant to be friends with benefits. And I definitely don’t want your pity after what I just told you. But you deserve the truth, all of it, even if it’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done.’

‘I’m speechless,’ he said, reeling.

Her face crumpled, and she frantically tried to wriggle out of his hold.

‘No. No. I love you, too!’ He finally said the words he’d never said before, never even thought he’d ever say. It wasn’t the way he’d rehearsed them on the long drive. But he hadn’t imagined Annie in his arms telling him she loved him, revealing her guilt about her parents and all the pain she’d been in.

‘What! Since when?’

‘Approximately seventy-two hours ago, when I came to your bedroom and you were packing. Leaving. That’s how long since I knew that it wasn’t only lust, friendship and respect I felt for you; it was love. And I haven’t had a second’s peace since.’

‘You really love me?’ Colour raced into her ashen face and her trembling began in earnest again.

‘I do.’ She had to know the truth, all of it, even if it felt like he was ripping himself open and exposing every vulnerable part of himself. ‘Watching you leave was the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced. And it triggered each and every one of my defence mechanisms because I’ve spent my whole life determined, no, petrified, of not being loved by those I love, of not being enough. Of being betrayed. Abandoned.’

‘Oh, Ethan.’ She caressed his cheek, and he thought he could cry at the tenderness and love radiating from her.

‘I’ve let fear run my whole life. But I’m not my parents. I’m me. And you’ve made me see that. Only you. And as much as I tried to pigeonhole you to protect myself, you’re nothing like my parents, or anyone who’s ever hurt me. You’re kind and courageous and loving. And I love you so much,’ he confessed, his voice deepening.

‘I still can’t believe it,’ she said, wonder suffusing her face.