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BROOKE
“You shouldn’t feel ashamed. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He moved his chair forward so that his spread legs bracketed mine, and he took my hands in his.
“Maybe not then, but it’s affected how I treated you.”
Ben looked down at my hands and sighed. “We can’t go back and change it. All we can do is forgive each other and move forward.”
I gave him a skeptical look. “Is it that simple?”
His thumb traced a light pattern on the back of my hand. “When you love someone, it is.”
I sucked in a breath, unsure I’d heard him correctly. “You love me?”
“I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw your lemonade stand. I wanted your attention, so I opened my own. Remember how you marched over to me with your hands on your hips? You asked what I was doing.” Ben smiled at the memory.
I remembered the moment I saw him sitting behind his table with that smirk on his face. “You said,‘Selling lemonade.’I thought my head would explode; I was so angry.”
“I liked when you talked to me. I didn’t care what it was about as long as you were engaging with me.”
I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my face. “Are you saying you taunted me in school so I’d talk to you?”
“I probably didn’t understand when we were younger, but in high school, I knew exactly what I was doing. But it was too late to turn things around. Our interactions were forged when we were eight. I didn’t see any other way to be with you. Anytime I said anything, you’d get so mad. Your cheeks were flushed, your eyes flashing. You were beautiful.”
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” I’d always wondered about his feelings, especially after he stopped by when I was sick.
“I think a part of me was afraid of rejection. The thought of talking to a girl in high school was tough, but I easily got your attention. I was worried if I told you how I really felt, you wouldn’t talk to me anymore.”
I licked my lips. “I’m not sure what I would have done if you’d told me the truth back then.”
“The thing is, I wouldn’t change anything because I have Cammie.”
I rested a hand over his. “Of course, you wouldn’t.”
“Everything happens at the right time, and I think our time is now.”
I smiled. “Abby was right. She said our childhood interactions were foreplay.”
Ben chuckled and, when he sobered, said, “I don’t regret anything. I’m here with you now, and I’m willing to earn your trust. To do whatever it takes to keep you in Cammie’s and my life. If that’s what you want, of course.”
My heart was pounding hard in my chest. It was hard for me to admit. “The thing is, I do trust you. I let my issues with Levi affect my decisions. I was afraid I would make another mistake and trust the wrong person. But you’re not Levi.”
“I’m not.”
“And you don’t want anything from me.”
Ben cupped my cheek. “Just your love.”
My eyes pricked with tears at his sweet words, and I closed them. “And you have it.”
“Do I?” His voice was gentle.
I slowly opened my eyes, soaking him in. “I love you, Ben Monroe. We can’t know what the future holds, but I want to take that leap with you.”
My hands were trembling in his. It was the most vulnerable I’d been with anyone.
“I’ll always treat your love with the care it deserves.”
I nestled my cheek deeper in the palm of his hand. “Me, too.”
