Page 61 of Unveiled

She made him feel things he’d only ever heard about. He wasn’t into all the gushy, romantic stuff that the movies talked about, but he did know one thing—whatever Adalyn and he had was different. He didn’t know if it would carry them the distance, but he knew for sure it was worth exploring.

Adalyn didn’t respond, and he spoke quickly to cover his faux pas. “Dinner and a movie. Then we’ll see where the night leads.”

She gave a little nod, and he slipped his hand up to cup the back of her head. He stared into her eyes for a long moment before dropping one last kiss on her full lips. Without another word, he left the room, praying he hadn’t messed everything up.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-FOUR

Adalyn studied Jaxon from across the table. Somehow he’d managed to sweet-talk Wendy into watching Jaclyn and putting her to bed tonight so they could have some time to themselves. She both anticipated it and dreaded it—because she knew exactly what this would be about.

His words from that morning had weighed on her all day. He’d called her his wife… and she had no idea how she felt about that. She’d tried to push it from her mind, but now it flared up full force. She hadn’t let herself dwell on it over the past couple of weeks.

A tiny tremor of fear ran through her, but it was shadowed by a sense of contentment and excitement. Part of her was flattered; the other was scared to death.

Dinner had been mostly silent, interspersed with small talk revolving primarily around Jaclyn. He kept most of his experiences from the Army under wraps, and she wondered if it bothered him more than he let on. She didn’t know exactly what he did or where he’d been, and it felt like one more secret between them.

He cleared his throat, and her stomach hit the floor as she dropped her gaze to her plate. Her hand clenched around the fork she held suspended over her plate as she waited for the other shoe to drop.

“Have you given any more thought to what you want to do?” he asked.

And there it was. She feigned ignorance. “What do you mean?” His expression told her she was doing a poor job, and she let out a sigh. “I don’t know.”

He leaned back in his chair and set his hands on his thighs as he studied her. His voice was soft. “That doesn’t sound promising.”

She placed her napkin on the table. “It’s just… It’s a lot to think about.”

“It sounds like you’ve made up your mind.”

“It’s not that,” she hedged.

His shoulders dropped a fraction and a muscle in his jaw ticked. “Right.”

She bit her lip, her skin flushing cold as his expressionless gaze landed on hers. He had every right to be angry with her. She wrung her hands together and prepared to bare her soul. “I… I’m scared.”

His brows drew together, twin lines forming in the space above his nose. “Why? What scares you?”

She took a moment to gather the words that needed to be said. “You. You scare me.”

His head jerked back and his eyes flared wide at her admission. “I scare you?”

“Not that way. I’m not afraid you’ll hurt me—not physically.” She swallowed over the sudden dryness in her throat. “You’re… different. You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met. You make me…” The words eluded her. She couldn’t begin to describe the way he made her feel. Thankfully he seemed to understand, because he nodded solemnly.

“Trust me when I say this, Adalyn.” He leaned forward and braced his elbows on the table. “I feel a connection to you that I’ve never experienced with another person. I felt it when we first met, and it’s still there now. All I’m asking for is a chance.”

He reached out and laid his hand on the table, palm up. She eyed it for a long moment before placing her own hand in his. “Can I tell you what I’d like?”

His blue eyes implored her to listen, and she nodded, unable to speak. “I want us to do this.” He gestured between them with his free hand. “I want to date you, learn everything about you, everything I missed.”

He held up a hand when she opened her mouth to speak. “No more living in the past. Neither of us can change what happened. But we can change the future.”

She swallowed hard, tears burning the backs of her eyes at his words. “Is that what you want?”

“I just want you, sweetheart. I want to come home to you and Jaclyn every night.”

“But what if we don’t make it?”

“What if we do?”