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“I don’t know if I believe you,” she whispers.
My stomach rolls and I think I’m going to throw up. I have to make her believe me. I should have told her how I felt about her this morning. Hell, I should have told her days ago. “Let me explain, please.” I drop to my knees on the sidewalk. “Please,” I say again, not caring that I’m begging.
She stares at me kneeling on the floor and eventually nods her head. “Okay,” she whispers.
Hope erupts in my chest, and I stand up and reach for her. She takes a step back and shakes her head. “Talk, Seb.”
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Paisley says as she walks past us and into Eden. I barely see her go, my eyes fixed on Taylor.
I drag my hand through my hair and take a second to breathe. I know what I say to her in the next five minutes could make or break us. If it breaks us, I don’t know how I’m going to live without her.
“I never wanted to have feelings for Sophie. They crept up on me. We’re friends. That’s all we’ve ever been, but somewhere along the way, for me at least, the lines got blurred.” I pause and drag in a breath. “I thought I’d buried my feelings, but Wyatt figured it out, and Nash and Paisley found out by accident. Suddenly, it felt like everyone knew and I was so afraid Cade and Sophie would find out. I begged them to not say anything. Sophie and Cade had just gotten married and they were so happy. It would have ruined my relationship with Cade if he’d found out, and I didn’t want that. So I dealt with it the only way I knew how. I threw myself even more into work and avoided my family at every opportunity. I thought it would be easier to stay away from everyone, but I hated it. I missed my family, and they were starting to wonder what was going on with me. Thanksgiving was the first time I’d seen anyone other than Paisley in weeks.”
I step toward her and take her hands in mine before she can move away. She tries to pull her hands free, but I hold on tightly.
“I’m not going to stand here and lie and say that I wasn’t still hung up on Sophie at Thanksgiving, because I was.”
She lowers her eyes and I know this must be hard for her to hear but I’ve got to say it.
“But then there was you, and meeting you again that day changed everything for me.”
She shakes her head.
“Yes, Taylor,” I insist, releasing one of her hands and using my fingers to tilt her chin so she’s looking at me. “I might not have known it right away, but everything felt a little easier when you were around, and the more time we spent together, the more I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
Tears track down her cheeks and my heart physically aches knowing I caused them.
“You might have made the first move the night we slept together, but I wanted it as much as you. I didn’t want to get hurt again, and I didn’t want to be the guy who hurt you, which is what kept holding me back. I didn’t think I could give you anything more than sex. I didn’t think I could be enough for you.”
I swipe my thumbs across her cheeks, wiping her tears away. I want to pull her into my arms and never let go, but I know I can’t.
“I should have been open with you. I was so desperate for Cade and Sophie to never find out that I didn’t think about what it would mean to keep it from you.” I sigh. “You won’t believe me, but how I feel about you, Taylor… it makes me question exactly what it was that I felt for Sophie.”
“What do you mean?” she whispers.
“The thought of losing you. I can hardly breathe, Tay. I know I said I couldn’t have the big love like Nash and Paisley, but I’ve found it.You’remy big love and I don’t think I’ll survive if you walk away. You’re not my second choice. You never were. You are theonlychoice. I don’t want this with anyone but you.”
She closes her eyes as more tears track down her cheeks. “I need some time to think.”
My heart feels like it’s breaking in my chest, and it’s like no pain I’ve ever felt before. I can’t lose her.
She’s walking away from me, and I follow her along the sidewalk.
“Taylor…”
She stops on the edge of the curb and turns to face me. “I love you, Seb. I love you more than I ever thought possible, but I need some space.”
She steps backward into the road, and the sound of screeching brakes pierces the silence. Her wide, scared eyes meet mine seconds before a car neither of us saw coming smashes into her, throwing her body into the air. It’s like everything happens in slow motion and it seems like her body’s in the air forever before she lands on the road with a sickening thud.
CHAPTERFORTY
Seb
Someone’s screaming Taylor’s name, and it takes me a second to realize it’s me. My heart’s pounding in my chest and nausea rolls through me as I run to her, dropping down onto the ground.
“Taylor, baby. Can you hear me?”
She’s not moving, and her eyes are closed. There’s blood on her face, and as my eyes sweep down her body, I see her leg is bent at a strange angle. I gently lift her hand, pressing my fingers over the base of her wrist. I breathe a sigh of relief when I feel her pulse under my fingers.
