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He nodded. Satisfied that I’d admitted to being in the wrong as well. “I thought that you didn’t trust me. And somehow, that became more important than anything else in the world.”
“I didn’t trust you.” The admission pained me beyond belief. And I could see the grief on Gavin’s face mirroring mine. “I should have, but I … I was so worried.”
“About what?” he demanded. “What could you possibly fear from me?”
“That you’d never forgive me for seeing her.”
He laughed once, as if he couldn’t believe it. “Why? Whitley, you know me!”
“I know.” I shook my head. “But part of it wasn’t even about you. It was … this was why I’dleftSafi. Her ex showed up at my apartment, and I assumed the worst and kicked Safia out. I’d ruined the whole thing over her ex showing up without even proof that anything had happened because I didn’t trust her. Then, I assumedyouwouldn’t trustme.”
“Your history didn’t help that one.”
“But there’s more,” I said, choking on the words. “You were right all along. Safia got in my head. I told you I’ve never told anyone that I love them. Well, she made it seem like, if I couldn’t say those words, then what we had was fake.”
Gavin frowned. “You believed that?”
I met his gaze as tears came to my eyes again. “Should I have?”
He rushed forward, pushing his hands up in my hair. “Absolutely not.”
“Why? Why not?”
“Because I love you, Whitley.”
The entire world narrowed down to those words. The words Gavin had never said to anyone before. The words I’d never spoken to another living person either. It was almost too much.
“You do?” I gasped as tears ran down my cheeks. I’d never thought I’d hear that from Gavin. Not ever. Not after what happened yesterday.
“Of course I do. I’ve loved you since the moment you walked back into my life with that pretty lavender hair and threw my entire world off its axis. And I’ve loved you every day since.”
“Oh, Gavin!” I slung my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder. He laughed as he lifted me into the air, pressing a kiss into my hair. “Say it again.”
He set me on my feet, swiping the tears from my eyes. “I love you, Whitley Bowen. And I always will.”
I swallowed once hard and nodded as I said. “I love you too.”
His eyes closed on instinct as euphoria lit his face. “Perfect words. Say it again.”
I chuckled and pressed my lips to his, murmuring, “I love you,” over and over against them.
When he set me back down on my feet, he fell to one knee. I stared down at him in shock as I realized what he was doing down there.
“Whitley Bowen, will you marry me?”
I gasped. “Gavin!”
He held my left hand that still had his grandmother’s diamond ring on my finger. The diamond I still hadn’t been able to take off. I had removed it only once since the day that he’d put it on my finger. Fake or not, it belonged there now. And here he was, offering for it to all be real—very real—from the start.
“But my dad,” I said softly.
He grinned. “Your dad said I didn’t need his permission to marry you. Just your acceptance.”
I gaped at him. “You talked to my dad?”
He nodded once with that mischievous grin that I loved so much. “Cleared the air. Now, it’s only you that I need an answer from. And maybe quickly because this stone is not comfortable on my knee.”
I burst into laughter. Only Gavin could make something so ridiculous so romantic at the same time.
