Page 92 of Hard To Stay

He put his hands on his hips and studied me. “What exactly are you asking me, Lexi?”

God. He was going to make me say it out loud. I swallowed past the boulder in the back of my throat. “Has there been anyone else?”

His eyes held mine; I could see him fight the smile growing at the corners of his lips. “Look at you all jealous and territorial.”

I smacked his shoulder, and he dramatically stumbled backwards emitting a laugh. “Just answer the question. It’s okay if you have.”

I totally lied, but it was the right thing to say.

He pulled me into his arms. “What would you do if I said yes?” My mind plotted out revenge on anyone who dared to touch him. Was he testing me?

“I would have to accept it.”

He grinned at me and brushed his nose against mine. “You’re such a shitty liar.”

“No, I’m not. You’re just a good detective. Now answer the question.”

He looked into my eyes and pulled me close. “No. Lexi. I promise you there hasn’t been anyone else.”

I wasn’t big on promises because I learned early on that promises were always meant to be broken. But, I believed him. I wrapped my arms around him, thinking about the beautiful life growing inside me.

Very slowly, I moved my lips to his. “Every part of me belongs to you.” My voice shook as I tried to work out the jumble of words in my head. My heart was his. Everything I had to give was his. “You are the best man I have ever known. You are not just a man who cares about himself. You’re a man who stands by the woman he loves. A man who fights and stands up for what he believes in. You’ve showed me what real love is. The love I feel for you is so deep that it terrifies me.”

His hands traveled up my back, and it felt like I was teetering on the edge. “Do you want to know what my biggest fear is?” The look in his eyes stopped my heart. “The scariest part about loving you is that I could someday lose you. I won’t be able to survive it next time. Not now. Not after this.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to come find me. I will always want you to come find me.”

He pressed his forehead against mine. “Even if I give you a thousand reasons to run away?”

My mind drifted back to everything we had gone through. I was a fool to think that I could ever live without him. “I will always want you, Brad. We’ve gone through hell together, but here we are, together. We will always find our way back to each other.”

---