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Hands on hips, she glared at him. “Okay, ask away. I don’t know whether I’ll answer you, though.”
Inhaling deeply, he took both her hands in his. “The message you sent me—do you mean what you said?”
“I don’t even remember what I said—that was months ago!”
“Really? Because I remember every word. ‘I haven’t stopped thinking about the kiss; you stirred up forgotten feelings.’ And my favorite part. ‘I have no idea how not to think about you.’ Did you mean all of that?”
With a sigh, her shoulders slumped forward. “Okay, yes, I meant it. I still do, but you’re in Marietta. I’m here. I have Dylan to think about, and it’s not as if you…” Swallowing, she looked away.
Cupping her face, he turned her face toward him again. “It’s not as if I… what?”
She shook her head, her eyes bright with tears.
This was it. The moment of truth. Time to go for broke. “Because if you were going to say it’s not as if I love you, you’d be wrong.”
Those beautiful lavender-blue eyes stared at him. “What… what are you saying?”
“I love you. I’m in love with you, Riley O’Sullivan. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you and Dylan if you’ll have me. That’s why I have the huge suitcase—I had to pack for forever, and winter jackets take up a lot of space, you know.”
One emotion after the other darted across her face, until her eyes were wide with panic. Not quite the emotion he was hoping for. Even before she opened her mouth, his heart was falling to the ground, breaking into a thousand little pieces. She didn’t feel the same way.
Dropping her hands, she stepped back. “This could never work, Mitch, you know that. This house… Portland, they are my sanctuary, our home. I can’t leave here. And you can’t stay here; your life, your family is in Marietta. Just please go.”
Holding onto his temper took a lot of effort, but he tried. “Can we talk about it? Please?”
“Talking isn’t going to change anything. I won’t survive losing one more person I love.”
He was turning away from her before her words penetrated his chaotic thoughts.
Frowning, he faced her again. “Repeat what you just said?”
“I don’t want to talk about it!” she called out.
“Not that part. The part where you say you won’t survive…”
“Losing one more person I—” Shocked blue eyes met his. She hadn’t realized what she’d said.
“So, you do love me?”
“It doesn’t matter, don’t you see? Your life is in Marietta, mine is here. This is where I belong…”
“That’s what you keep saying, but I think you know it hasn’t been true for a while now.”
“Of course, it’s true. You don’t know me; you don’t know anything about me…”
He reached out and stroked her face. “I know everything about you. I know you love wearing flowy clothes; I know you love multicolored earrings; I know you love your son; I know you care deeply about your cousin and brother. I know you’ll get on a plane, no matter what time of day, to fly across states to be with your aunt because you thought she was ill. I know you’re an introvert, you like your own space, you don’t like crowds. I also know the exact hue of blue your eyes get when you’re aroused. I know the different sounds you make in your throat when we make love, and now I know you love me. I’m here because I don’t ever want to be without you again. But if that’s not what you want, I’ll go.”
She stared at him, her eyes filling with tears.
He rubbed his face. “You mean to tell me I’ve actually gone and spoiled it all by saying something stupid like I love you?”
“Mitch…” she whispered brokenly.
Not even his feeble attempt at a joke helped. “I refuse to let this end like this, I love you, damn it.”
“Sometimes it’s not enough…”
He was getting desperate. “We can make it work, I know we can.”
