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Her wide eyes meet mine. “You don’t want to be friends anymore?”
“No. I don’t think we can ever go back to being friends.”
“What?”
She looks confused, and I guess after freaking out and avoiding her for two weeks, I can’t expect anything else.
“I’m saying I want to give this thing between us a go, Tay. I’m not going to sit here and pretend to know what I’m doing, but I want to try.Youmake me want to try.”
Nerves swirl in my stomach as I wait for her to respond. I guess I’ve been a jackass these past couple of weeks and there’s a chance she doesn’t think I’m worth risking her heart for. When she’s silent for longer than I’d like, a wave of nausea washes over me and I realize I might be too late.
“I mean, if you’ve changed your mind—”
She smiles. “I haven’t, Seb. I want to try too,” she says, cutting me off.
Relief crashes over me and I reach for her, pulling her into my lap.
“You do?” She nods. “Thank God.”
I cup her neck and bring my mouth to hers, kissing her softly. Her lips brush against mine, and although it’s only been a couple of weeks since I kissed her, it feels like forever. She pulls out of the kiss and rests her forehead on mine.
“I missed you so much, Seb.”
“I missed you too.” She lifts her head and worries her bottom lip. “What’s wrong?”
“What made you change your mind? You seemed pretty set on not wanting a relationship.”
I gently stroke her cheek, my hand still on her neck. “We were already in a relationship, even if it was one no one knew about. It took me a while to realize that. I wanted to spend all my time with you. That’s more than sex.”
“So, you’re not afraid anymore?”
“Honestly?” She nods. “I’m terrified, Taylor. I don’t ever want to hurt you and I don’t want to get hurt either, but I want to take the risk with you. You’re worth it.”
“I promise to never intentionally hurt you, Seb, and I know you’d never intentionally hurt me.”
“Haven’t I already hurt you?” I ask quietly.
She sighs. “You were guarding your heart. I get it.” She presses her lips to mine again in a soft kiss. “I hope one day soon you’ll be able to tell me why you’re so wary of love.”
I hold her gaze. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to tell her about Sophie. I hope I will, but I can’t promise to. I don’t want to start our relationship on a lie, though.
“I hope I will too. I’m so sorry I hurt you. That’s the last thing I wanted.”
“I know,” she whispers, her head dropping onto my shoulder. I tighten my hold on her, loving how perfectly she fits in my arms.
When her body tenses, I know she’s in pain. “Do you need more pain meds, sweetheart?”
She nods. “The Advil, please. I took some Tylenol earlier.”
I brush a kiss on her forehead and stand up with her in my arms. Lowering her onto the sofa, I go into the kitchen and grab the Advil, along with a glass of water. I hand both to her and she swallows them down, the heating pad covering her stomach.
“Lie down,” I tell her, guiding her so her head is in my lap. I gently stroke my fingers through her hair, and it isn’t long before her breathing’s evened out and she’s asleep.
I think if I’m honest with myself, I fell for her a while ago, I just wasn’t ready to admit it. It took her walking away to realize what she means to me. After speaking to Sophie, I knew I didn’t want to lose her. I wasn’t lying when I said I was terrified. I’ve never done the whole relationship thing, and I have no idea what I’m doing. I do know I want to be with her, though. As scary as it is, maybe Nash was right when he said Taylor could be my big love. It’s definitely starting to feel like that.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
Taylor
