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He pulled her into his arms, and the feel of her hugging him back so fiercely was indescribable.
“I promise you,” he whispered. “I will never let you go again.”
After what felt like an eternity, she slowly sat back. “I don't want you to think that just because I've told you how I feel, that all those fears I have will magically disappear. I'm still afraid. I feel like I've just walked out on a tightrope with no safety net below me.”
“I understand, and I know we can't immediately go back to the way things were before. We have to start over, we can't just pick up where we left off.”
She nodded. “Exactly.”
“I have a lot of things to figure out, and I’m putting in the work, I promise you. I’m going to do whatever it takes. Not just for you, but for me. And I’m scared too, you know.”
“Of what?”
“That I'll fail you, that I'll fail us. Maybe you'll decide that I'm reallynotenough for you, like you said that day on your deck. You could decide that this has all been a waste, and I'm not worth the time and energy. I know you've already had those thoughts.” The more he spoke, the more she shook her head. “Don't shake your head, Lizzy. It's possible.”
“How can you even think that? After all this, do you really believe I could come to feel that way?”
“You might.”
“I won't.”
“How can you say that? You don't know that. How can you be so sure?”
She stared at him for a long moment before answering, and when she finally spoke, it was slowly and with conviction. “I can say it because Iknowit. I won't let it happen.”
Just a few minutes ago, she’d been questioninghim, and he’d been the one reassuringherthat he wouldn't leave, that his feelings were constant. And now he’d made his point; if she could be so assured in her feelings, as she’d just said, then he could too. She just had to believe in him.
He lifted her hand and kissed it lightly. “I already told you that whatever power you think I hold over you, you hold the same over me. And right now, my biggest concern is not for myself, but for you. You deserve the best version of me, and I deserve tobethe best version of me.”
She looked at their joined hands. “I have to be able to ask you questions about everything. I'll need answers, and you have to do your best to give them to me.”
He nodded. “But I'm still trying to find the answers. I don't have all of them now, but they'll come.”
“I know. And in the meantime…we'll keep talking. I'm kind of glad, I think, that you'll be in Boston and I'll be on the Cape. It gives us a little breathing room.”
He looked at her uncertainly, and she squeezed his hand.
“I think it's just what we need. In a way, I think it makes it easier. We used to talk on the phone all the time, remember? You called me every morning when we were first together.”
He was pleased to see the beginnings of a smile gracing her lips. “And every night.”
She nodded. “Every night.”
He wanted to kiss her but stopped himself, unsure if it was the right time—until she moved toward him. They met in the middle, ending the conversation with a soft kiss, one meant to strengthen and reassure.
“I love you,” he whispered in her ear. He held her close and inhaled deeply, savoring the moment.
“I love you too.”
His heart soared, and he kissed her again. “Are you hungry?”
She nodded. “My stomach was in knots earlier, but I feel better.”
“I'm glad.”
“What did you bring us for lunch?”
“I picked an old favorite.” He reached into the cooler and pulled out a large lobster roll.
