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But it’s not simple. I hurt him. He offered me everything and I pushed him away.
‘How’s Paris?’
My smile is weak. ‘Not what I thought.’
‘You don’t like it?’
I shake my head, my throat throbbing with unshed tears. ‘It’s just...not what I thought.’
He expels a breath and my chest heaves. I’m doing this all wrong. ‘I promised my mum,’ I say softly. ‘I promised my mum I’d do this, that I wouldn’t rush to settle down. She had so many regrets and she wanted to make sure I didn’t. She didn’t want me to make the same mistakes she did.’
‘I know that.’ He turns his face away from me, looking towards the window to his right.
‘But that’s not about Paris,’ I whisper. ‘It’s not about my medical career. It’s no one thing in particular. It’s an approach to life. She didn’t want me to miss opportunities. She wanted me to follow my heart, to listen to it, to indulge it. She wanted me to live fully, a rich life. And, above all, she wanted me to be happy.’
I move to him, unable to keep my distance now, needing to make him understand, to get him to see... ‘She wanted me to be happy, Michael, and I can’t be. Not without you.’
His head whips around to mine, his expression taut.
‘I went to Paris because I thought it was what I should do, but the second I got on that flight I felt like I was being ripped in two. And I was. Because I fell in love with you and, without me realising it, all my dreams, all my hopes, shifted away from what I thought they were.’
He’s staring at me and his lack of response is making my tummy do backflips. ‘I know you’re probably still pissed. You delivered only the most perfect declaration of love ever and I acted like you’d asked me to wash your dirty socks or something.’ I let out a tight laugh and shake my head. ‘I know I stuffed up. I know I ruined everything. And I’m sorry.’ My voice quivers. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. You knew I’d
regret leaving you, leaving Dublin, and you still watched me walk away. You let me go and find this out for myself, even when that hurt you, and I’m sorry...’
He lifts a finger to my mouth. ‘Stop apologising.’ He closes his eyes, then blinks them open seconds later. ‘You’re really here?’
I smile and kiss his fingertip. ‘Yes.’
But there’s still a sense of reserve to him. A sense of worry. As though I’m here for a weekend or something. Not for good. Not for keeps.
‘The thing is,’ I say, moving closer so our bodies touch. I feel his shuddering breath. ‘I have a new dream, and I’m hoping you’ll make it come true.’
‘I told you,’ he says gruffly. ‘If you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask...’
‘I need you,’ I say simply, wrapping my hands around his waist. ‘I need you, for always and for ever.’ I push up on my tiptoes, kissing his lips lightly and stifling a groan for how utterly perfect that feels. ‘That is, if the offer still stands?’
His eyes flare and in response he presses his mouth to mine. It’s a kiss of passion and promise—a kiss of new beginnings. And, for the first time in a long time, I feel utterly, sublimely and simply happy.
* * *
If you enjoyed His Innocent Seduction,
look out for the first installment in
Claire Connelly’s Guilty as Sin duet!
Her Guilty Secret
Available now!
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Make Me Need by Katee Robert
