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“Luke helped me realize that I was afraid of some things,” she said. “Well, one thing in particular, I guess…you.”
“Me? Afraid of me?”
“Not like you’re thinking,” she said, smiling. “I was…or, okay, Iamafraid of us not working out. I always had a steady boyfriend since college, until I broke up with John. I always felt like I had to keep trying to findthe one, and it was disappointing and exhausting.”
I lowered my brows, unsure how to navigate this conversation. “Is it that you’re afraid of getting hurt?”
“Yeah, but it’s not just that. I have an anxious mind, and some things in life have taught me to assume the worst is going to happen. My mom’s death. Luke’s struggles. If you assume the worst, you can’t get hurt.”
Now that she had told me, I felt foolish for not seeing it sooner. Elle did have that tendency. She was a careful person. She’d chosen her Range Rover because it had a high safety rating. She flossed every night before bed. Every morning, she was on time for her job, like clockwork.
“That’s true,” I said. “But you also can’tlive.”
“I see that now. It’s hard, but I’m starting to see how I’ve been getting in my own way. And you need to know that if we keep seeing each other, I won’t be able to change overnight. I’ll still worry because I’ve been doing it my whole life. Trying to be perfect and worrying I’ll fail.”
I stood and went over to the couch to sit next to her. “I don’t want you to be perfect. I just want you to be you.”
She laughed lightly. “That’s good, because chasing perfection is exhausting.”
“I love the way you like me for me. And I don’t justlikeyou for you. I’m fucking crazy about you for you.”
“I may have similar feelings,” she said, putting her hand on my thigh.
“Let’s jump in with both feet and see where we end up. I’ve never been with a woman who made me want to be a better man like you do. You stand up for what you believe in and you don’t mind if I agree. That’s the kind of energy I want in a partner.”
Tears glimmered in her eyes. “I never believed I’d find this. Someone who made me feel this way. I don’t know how you could possibly become a better man, Ford. You’re already the best man I know.”
I cupped her cheek and kissed her, overwhelmed by the strength of the connection I felt with her. It wasn’t just attraction, but something much deeper.
By the time we pulled away, she had tears streaming down her face.
“You okay?” I asked her.
“They’re happy tears,” she said.
I took a deep breath and let it out, relief coursing through me. “I need to take you to Vegas, babe. You’ve got one hell of a poker face. When you walked in here, I was sure you were going to tell me to go fuck myself.”
Her expression brightened. “I am a pretty solid blackjack player.”
“We’ll have to hit Sin City when I have a couple of nights off.”
She gave me a playful look. “I just realized I’ve never seen your bedroom.”
My cock hardened in response as she bit her lip and stood up. “I can fix that.”
I stood and pulled her into my arms, leaning in to brush my lips against hers.
“I think this might be the start of something good,” she said against my lips. “Likereallygood.”
“It is. I might just make you into a hockey fan yet, babe.”
“We’ll see.” She grinned. “I’m already a major Ford Barrett fan.”
I quirked a brow. “Yeah? Like how major?”
“Take me to your bedroom and find out.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
