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PROLOGUE
“I’ve already watched you go. Made plans. Prepared my heart. I know how to deal with the leaving; it’s the staying I’m not ready for.”
— L. E. Bowman
Here’s what I’ve learned:
True love finds you when you stop looking.
When you’re not expecting it.
When the timing is so horribly wrong and you can’t even imagine putting yourself out there, can’t imagine opening your heart to someone who has the potential to destroy it, destroy you.
Sometimes, when it’s the last thing you want.
You stumble upon it, or rather, it stumbles upon you, leaving you with no choice but to accept it, take it in, every single bit of it.
It knows your struggles. It sees your challenges, the barriers you’ve set up to deter anybody who dares to travel the dark, wooded path to your heart.
And it doesn’t care.
It stands before you in all its glory, telling you the time is here and now. Reach out and grab it before it’s too late.
Because when you find someone who makes your heart stutter in your chest, when you find someone who makes your face light up every single time your eyes fall upon them, that smile of yours splitting your face right in half, you take the risk. You dive right in.
Forget about the timing, the expectations, the fear.
Back the hell up, get a running start, and then
dive
right
in.
***
CHAPTER ONE
Claire
“You can’t be fucking serious, Claire. Come on!”
I’m very fucking serious, and I mean, really, the fact that he thinks I’m anything but is highly comical at this point. The way Aaron’s tugging at his stupid hair and rubbing his stubbly jaw tells me that he might actually be starting to believe me, despite his insistence that he doesn’t. He keeps dragging his sweaty hands down his pants, pacing back and forth in our apartment.
My apartment.
Poor guy looks stressed. It’s entertaining, to say the least. Quite a stark contrast from his normally thoughtless attitude.
“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life,” I toss out with indifference, as if I couldn’t possibly care any less. Because, seriously, I couldn’t. I arch a dangerous brow in his direction, pinning my arms across my chest, daring him to test me.
When he reels on me, his red face is painfully twisted. It looks like there’s some potential for tears. I wouldn’t mind at all. Lord knows I’ve wasted my fair share on this man.
“Claire, be reasonable, babe. It was a mistake. Don’t act like you’re so perfect.”
“I’m far from perfect, but I would also never do what you did. Now get the fuck out of my apartment.” By some luck of the draw, my finger doesn’t shake when I point to the door, all his shit piled in front of it. I took the liberty to pack for him while he was at work. He still hasn’t thanked me.
“Where the fuck do you expect me to go?” He’s drained, exasperated, pretty blue eyes wild. I used to love those eyes. Now I want to jab my fork into them.
