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“Nah, you look fine. And,” he looks right at me, “I’d imagine Grace is in the same state you’re in right now.”
“Do you think it was bad to just roll up on her doorstep like we did?”
“She did get a couple of hours notice, so no, I don’t think it was a bad idea. She was definitely expecting you, and, I’d even say, looking forward to meeting you.”
“I still feel like I have a million questions.”
“So you’ll ask them. I put the clothes in the dryer but we’ve got about twenty minutes to go. Hopefully they stall a bit so we’re not sitting here in their bathrobes when they get back.”
“Right? Way to make an awkward day even more awkward.”
“Grace is pretty cool, though, don’t you think?” he asks me. “I thought the more likely scenario would be something more in line with a dumpster fire, but so far, so good.” He leans back so he can make eye contact. “What’s your opinion of her?”
“I want to…” I shake my head, choked with tears.
“Come here,” he whispers as he pulls me in close. “You’re doing great,” he says as he strokes his hand up and down the length of my back.Keep doing that, I want to tell him as I melt into his body. I am boneless, and his touch feels like it’s the only thing holding me together at this point.
I ease back a bit and take a very deep breath. “What I was going to say is that I have this overwhelming urge to tell her, ‘I love you,’ and that would be bananas, wouldn’t it?”
He shrugs. “Maybe when love is something you feel deep inside, you should trust that it’s true. When you look at a person and that’s the thought that springs to mind, why question it so much?”
“Wise words.”
“It’s no joke. Hate is a visceral feeling, why not love?”
“I guess because those three words can be thrown around when they’re not true.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
LIAM
“Are you guilty of throwing those words around?”
She nods. “What are you supposed to do when someone says they love you and you don’t feel the same way?”
“I’m thinking this pertains to you and Parker?”
“Yep…So that makes two firsts that were burned on that jerk.”
“You didn’t mean it?”
She side eyes me while pinching her thumb and index finger together. “Not even a little bit. I always wondered what was the matter with me. Why I’d get uncomfortable when he started paying attention to me, and why I wasn’t happy when he first asked me out. Everyone else thought it was great, but I wanted to hide myself away in my room or in the stables. I just wanted to be left alone.”
“I’d say first impressions are on the money, but I didn’t come off as a nice guy when we first met.”
She pushes my chest like she’s angry when she’s clearly not. “I was intimidated by you, but intrigued.”
“Intrigued?”
“You had the whole angry young man thing going on, and I wanted to know what your story was.”
Sarah stands up then, stretching like a cat. The robe is swimming on her, and she looks so damn cute. I want to snap a picture of her now, just the way she is. I also want to tell her that love is the word that pops into my head, and my heart, when I look at her, but that is not happening. I go with a safer alternative, something that won’t leave me hanging out to dry. “Just so you know, I never feel that way when you’re around, the angry young man thing. These past few days, I’m just…happy.”
“Same here. This has been a crazy few days, but you’ve made it so much better. I hope you know that.”
When she reaches her hand out, I take it and coax her down to sit in my lap. “I’m glad I’m here with you.”
Sarah settles in, ghosts her hands along the base of my neck until her fingers are twisted in my hair, tips her head to the side and drops a gentle kiss on my lips. Pulling back, she looks to gauge my reaction, and when she sees me smile, she goes in for more.
