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“What went wrong, Luke?” As much as I’d tried to hold them in, tears formed in my eyes. I battled to keep my composure—not to rage, or scream, or cry, but to listen.
“I—I was scared. So fucking scared. Everyone I’ve ever loved has left me. I was pushing you away before you could do the same.” He scrubbed a hand across his face, trying to compose himself. “It’s no excuse, I know that now. Ethan and Alex helped me to see that. I threw away the best thing that ever happened to me.” He took my chin in his hand, his eyes full of bleak despair. “I needed you to get the message and leave me, so I hurt you. The feelings I had for you were so overwhelming. I didn’t know how to handle them. You consumed me, Liv. You still do.”
He reached out, gently tugging me into his arms. Sighing, I rested my head against his chest, hearing the wild staccato beat of his heart. My arms slid around his waist, and we stood, hugging one another. A lump formed in my throat, and tears filled my eyes once again.
He rested his chin on my head. “I missed you so much,” he breathed unsteadily, his words muffled by my hair. I drew back a little and tilted my head to look at him, taken aback by the sadness in his gaze.
“I missed you, too,” I admitted. “But—”
He cut me off, shaking his head. “Please. Just let me get the rest of this out. You can say whatever you want afterwards, I promise. Lay into me, shout, walk away—do whatever you like. I just need to explain.”
I nodded jerkily, unable to speak.
He released me. Biting his lip, he rubbed the back of his neck, looking more unsure than I’d ever seen him before.
Oh, Luke. I concentrated on breathing in and out, trying to keep my composure.
“We started getting closer, and it frightened me. I started pulling away, and I could feel it inside that I was going to fuck everything up.” His mouth twisted. “You were so good to me, so patient, and gave me all the space you thought I needed. I could tell how much you were falling for me, though, because the same thing was happening to me. It all got too much for me. I didn’t know how to deal with the feelings I had. I knew I’d end up causing you pain. I knew I’d break your heart.”
He closed his eyes briefly, his expression resigned. “I know I can’t expect another chance with you. I hurt you so badly. I just hope you can forgive me, at least.” His voice cracked, and I lost it.
“Luke,” I whispered brokenly, tears tracking down my cheeks. My heart went out to the man I loved. “I forgive you.”
I slid my arms around his neck as I’d done so many times before, and we rested our foreheads against each other, clinging to one another desperately. He made a choked sound and swallowed hard, working his jaw, then clasped my chin again, lowering his face to mine.
He opened his mouth, his full lips so close that they were almost brushing my own.
“You’ve become my world, Olivia Payne.” He whispered his confession against my lips. “I love you.”
Three words.
Eight letters.
My heart soared, overflowing with the love that was pouring out of him with every breath he took, every look he was giving me, every touch of his skin on mine.
“I know that I don’t deserve anything from you. But, Liv, if there’s even a tiny part of you that would consider taking another chance on me, on us, I’ll spend the rest of my life doing whatever I can to show you just how much you mean to me.” His voice shook, and I closed the last millimetre of space between us, my mouth meeting his. He kissed me fiercely, passionately, and I returned the kiss, pouring all the love I felt for him into it.
I pulled away, both of us breathless.
Unwinding my arms from around his neck, I clasped his face in my hands. “It’s your turn to listen to me. Yes, you broke my heart. Shattered it. It killed me to think that you didn’t want me, that I had to see you at work every day and know you’d never be mine.” I took a deep, bolstering breath, staring into his eyes. “I meant what I said, though: I forgive you. I think we have a lot of issues to work through, but I promise you this, right here, right now. I’m not going anywhere. As long as we can promise to be open with each other, then we’re going to be okay.” Conviction filled my voice, and his tortured gaze cleared. “I love you, Luke Davenport.”
He smiled, a wide, genuine smile, and my heart skipped a beat.
An answering smile spread across my face. We stared at each other wordlessly for a moment, then he lowered his eyes to my mouth.
“I love you. I love you. I love you,” he repeated, punctuating his words with soft kisses. I melted into his embrace, savouring the slow, sensual slide of his lips against mine.
Breaking the kiss, I took a tiny step back, putting a hand onto the smooth wooden pergola for support. My heart was racing, and my legs shook.
“I missed your kisses.” My voice came out breathy and high-pitched, and I took a deep, steadying breath.
“Come here, baby.” He pressed a soft kiss to my neck, trailing his lips upwards until he reached my mouth. Lost in the sensation of his touch, I pressed into him, aligning the hard planes of his body with mine, pulling him closer.
Dropping one last kiss on my lips, he tilted his head and studied me intently for a long moment, his gaze tender, a soft smile directed at me.
The softness in his smile gradually faded, replaced by a devious grin, and a predatory gleam appeared in his eyes.
“I bet that wasn’t all you missed, was it?”
