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She scrolls through the list while mumbling to herself. “There are things listed here that I don’t do anymore.”
I know.Unfortunately, I inherited my appreciation fornostalgia from my mother, and I have never been able to outgrow it, which is the only reason why I could never delete the list no matter how many times I tried.
After a few more minutes, she reaches the bottom of the note. “You only have one negative.”
Con: She may never love me back.
“Little by little, your cons annoyingly started making their way over to the pros column.”
Her laugh comes out like a half sob. “That’s ridiculous.”
“No, Dahlia, that’slove.”
“You agreed to a casual relationship knowing your feelings might never be reciprocated?” Disbelief colors her voice.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Some people are worth the risk.”
Her bottom lip wobbles.
“Life without you was a series of pros and cons. Risks and rewards. Black and white with very few shades of gray. But then you came back and flipped a switch inside me, flooding my world with color after a ten-year blackout, and I don’t plan on giving that up. Not now. Not ever.”
Tears pool near her lash line.
“You might not believe my words now, but I won’t stop until you do. So go ahead and try to push me away, but you already know based on our history that I will stop at nothing to prove you wrong.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Julian
The trip to Dahlia’s is a quiet one. She spends most of it staring out the window, while I stay focused on the road. Despite the urge to check in with her, I hold back and stay silent, not wanting to add to her distress.
It’s not until I pull up to her house that she finally speaks up, surprising me.
“I’m sorry.”
I blink rapidly. “What are you—”
“I know you’re a good guy—possibly the best guy I’ve ever met—even if you drive me crazy.” She twists one of her rings. “Your list. God. I can’t believe you spent over a decade working on that.”
“Twelve years, but who’s counting?”
Her chin quivers. “Maybe if things were different for me, we could—”
“Stop.”
“But—”
“No. I don’t want to hear whatever excuse you spent the whole drive coming up with.”
Her muscles tighten. “You can’t ignore the obvious.”
“Glad we’re finally on the same page.”
She glances away.
