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I sucked in a breath, held it for a second, then released it in awhoosh. “I’d say it wasn’t a deal breaker and that I understand what it’d mean if it went well. And I’d tell you that in the past, I hadn’t thought I wanted kids anytime soon, but things change. People grow. And now I don’t feel that way.”
He swallowed hard and nodded, squeezing my hands. “And as far as your trust issues, I’d tell you that trust was big for me, too. Because dating you, introducing you to my son as my girlfriend, and letting you into his life is all huge for me. I’d be honest about how scary it is knowing we don’t have a crystal ball.”
“That makes sense. I’m gathering that dating as a single parent is probably really freaking hard. That’s a lot to take into a new relationship.”
“No kidding,” he agreed with a laugh. “But that’s kind of where I’m going with this. Even if what happened between us hadn’t happened, we’d need to build that trust up. And it’s not something that’s going to happen quickly, but if you’re willing to give me this second chance, I promise I’ll do everything I can to show you that you can trust me.”
“And I’d need to do the same, because you’re still scared that it could hurt Grayson if we don’t work out.”
It wasn’t a question, but he shook his head like it was. “You don’t need to prove yourself to me. I’m not saying I don’t trust you. I’m saying we’re different people now. Grayson has changed me, and what I did three years ago changed you. So now we’ll both start fresh, and we can build that trust up, brick by brick.”
I mulled it over, understanding his point. The love between us was still there, but even if we were strangers, we’d need to take this slow and be careful about it. A lot more than our hearts were on the line. Grayson’s was, too.
“I guess you’re not really trying to waltz back into my life and act like nothing happened, then, huh?”
“I don’t think we could do that if we tried.”
Biting my lip, I felt myself giving in, but I couldn’t help the fear that still lurked in the background.
“What do you say?” he prompted, squeezing my hands. “Can we start over? Because I have to tell you, I’m not giving up until I get a hard no. I’ll even let Ms. Hattie and Jo trick us into spending time together and give that exposure therapy idea a shot.”
I laughed, then dropped my hands and paced away, looking out over the water. “Give me a second to think.”
