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45
Elizabeth
My heart slams against my chest at the sight of him, body trembling as I try to keep myself from wrapping my arms around him. His features are hard to read. His eyes are soft and lips at rest, but I can’t tell if he’s glad I’m here or upset by it.
“Hi,” I murmur when he doesn’t speak or ask me to come inside.
I’m worried it’s too soon for me to be showing up; that maybe he needs more time. But this couldn’t wait, and the things I need to say should be said in person.
“Can I come in and talk to you?” I ask him.
He nods, then moves to open the door wider, allowing me to step inside without a word.
My eyes wander as I walk into the living room, wondering if Allison and Jon can hear us.
Brenden shuts the front door and walks over to me.
My head is still swimming from the events earlier, my heart aching from the raw emotion. It’s hard to remember what I’d wanted to say as he watches me expectantly.
“I thought you wanted to talk,” he quips, his lips curving ever so slightly.
I smile, launching myself at him. My arms wrap tightly around him, the side of my face pressing into his chest as I inhale his scent.
His body goes rigid for a moment, but relaxes as his arms encase me.
“Can we go upstairs to talk?” I ask against his chest.
“We can,” he scoffs, “but we both know we’ll end up in my bed and skip the talk altogether.”
“Good point. We’ll talk here,” I agree, pulling back to look up into his eyes. “I really want you to hear what I have to say.”
“All right,” He sighs, tensing up again. “Go ahead.”
I take a deep breath and close my eyes, trying to make sense of my racing thoughts.
Brenden wasn’t the only one comparing my love for him to my love for Xander. I knew they weren’t the same but couldn’t exactly explain it. My feelings for Brenden made me question the love I shared with Xander.
I almost felt guilty for loving him so much.
Not only that, but the love I still feel for Xander made me question whether my heart was fully with Brenden.
“Okay,” I begin, opening my eyes, “I thought about what you said earlier, that I don’t love you the way I love Xander, and you’re right.”
His face falls, his eyes diverting from mine.
“Hear me out.” I place my hand on his cheek, and he brings his gaze back to meet mine.
“I chose to be with Xander,” I tell him. “I worked hard to build our relationship and our love. After I lost him, I had no hope or desire to ever fall in love again. Then you walked into my life. I’ve felt this pull toward you from the second we met. It’s like there was this invisible force tethering me to you. Loving you isn’t something I chose to do, just as I’m sure you didn’t choose to fall in love with a widowed mother of two. Yet here we are.”
Brenden’s features are drawn, his jaw clenched and body tight. He still doesn’t understand where I’m going with all of this.
Smiling, I run my thumb over his forehead, trying to smooth his features before wrapping both arms around him to bring him closer.
After he walked out my front door earlier, I tried to figure out how we got here. How two people who wanted nothing to do with love ended up finding it with each other. That’s when it all clicked for me.
“That’s the difference between him and you. Then and now. That love, and this one. Xander was the love of my life. I made a conscious effort to love him. But you and I were destiny, Brenden Scott. Our love was fated. You’re my soulmate.”
Brenden
