Page 103 of Slow Burn

“Are you kidding me?”

He shook his head. “Not even a little. Why?” Elijah paused, his eyes wide with nervousness. “Did you want to date him?”

A part of her wanted to say yes, but if she wanted him to stop playing games, she couldn’t either. “No. But eventually, I will want to date someone, and you can’t threaten every man I find attractive.”

He made a noise, almost like a growl, but he didn’t comment.

“Elijah, why did you crash my nonexistent date?”

Grabbing one of her hands, holding her tightly, he stared at her. “Because I need to apologize and make sure you understand how I feel. From there, you decide if I stay for dinner. Will you please let me do that?”

Was he going to torture her with another I can’t be with you speech and try to friend-zone her?

“Peach, please?” Elijah begged her to listen, and after everything, she figured she owed him that. Georgia nodded in agreement.

Naturally, their server returned to the table. She must have sensed the tension because she put another glass of water on the table for Elijah and left.

“I’m proud of you for recognizing what you deserve. I’m sorry for not being that person when we were dating.”

“But you were.”

“In some ways,” he admitted. “But in other ways, I was scared shitless of losing you, so I kept things casual to protect myself, which wasn’t fair.”

What the hell type of apology was this?

“You were scared of losing me?” She was so over this crap. “I thought it was your job you were freaking out about.”

“I was afraid of that too. Losing Miles was one of the most difficult moments of my life. He wasn’t just a mentor, but a father figure and person I leaned on when losing my parents. The idea you could be in the same situation as his wife gave me fucking nightmares. But I can’t keep living in fear because now I’ve lost you either way, and it’s fucking agonizing. I miss your smile and positive attitude. I miss hearing your stories from work and how you always manage to save the day. I miss you reading next to me and listening to your reactions as you read your book. I miss kissing you and all your sweetness. Fuck, I miss you. I miss us.”

Elijah stopped for a moment, only to pull her hand to his mouth so he could kiss her palm.

“I love you, Peach. And I promise, I’m all in, if you’ll have me.”

Georgia blinked back the tears that were building.

Elijah’s hand on the table moved to cup her cheek. “Please tell me you still love me.”

While she wanted to jump in his lap, overjoyed with his apology, she had to decide whether it was enough.

HANGING ON BY a thread, Elijah clutched Georgia’s hand. He had no idea how he would handle her rejection.

She glanced at him with her beautiful green eyes. “Elijah, I love you. But love isn’t always enough.” Georgia gave a grim smile. “If you really want to be with me, the way I want to be with you, things need to be different this time around.”

Fuck yes, his shoulders finally let go of the tension they harbored. Elijah was willing to do anything if it meant Georgia wasn’t walking away.

“Tell me what you need.”

Georgia gave him a real smile this time. “You are not allowed to push me away. We both need to be honest, consistent, and respect each other. This is nonnegotiable.”

“Done. What else?”

“I want dates, whether it’s a hike or reading together or we go to dinner. I understand your schedule is hectic, but we need to make time for each other.”

“Agreed.”

“Why is this so easy?” Georgia wondered as she bit her lip.

“Because I want the same thing as you.”