Page 133 of Promise Me

Oh, I think we were all surprised.

“You … you bought this for us?”

“For you,” he corrects me, taking another step forward. “I’m just hoping you want to share it with me.”

“You want to share the bookstore?” I ask to clarify.

He shakes his head.

“I want to share your dreams, your life,ourlife. Everything.”

He moves to grab the blue rolls off the other table and hands them to me.

“I asked Luca to give you a few options on how you could remodel this place. With me or without me, I want you to have everything you want—but for the record, I really hope you choose to do it with me.”

My heart starts to race.

It’s him. The Hudson I fell in love with.

My hands start to shake. I still have a chance to keep my promise to him. I plan to, but in order for us to move forward, we can’t have any more secrets.

“Were you going to tell me about Mrs. Whittaker’s deal with us?”

“I don’t know.” He inhales a breath. “I wanted to, and in my head, I knew that was the right move, but I can’t tell you for sure that I would have followed through. I meant it when I said the only reason I didn’t tell you is because your dream of having your own place was so strong, I was worried that if I told you everything, you’d feel obligated to do something else instead.”

“You should have trusted me.”

“I do trust you,” he says quickly.

“Then you should have told me everything.”

“I was scared, okay?” He runs a hand through his hair and spins. His hand rests on his hips for a moment before he turns around. “I’d just fallen in love with the most incredible woman to ever walk this earth, and I was terrified as hell that if I told you everything, you’d remember a version of me who didn’t exist anymore, and you’d leave. Turns out, no matter which choice I made, I lost you.”

I place the blueprints on the counter and cross my arms.

“Oh, so you get to decide how this ends now?”

His gaze darts to meet mine.

He’s still studying me as I say, “Because the way I see it is, I own half this place, and that means you’re stuck with me.”

“I …”

“Oh, you have nothing to say now?”

I take another step toward him, closing the distance between us, and a small smile tugs at his lips.

“As co-owner,” I continue, “I have some rules, and I suggest not speaking until I’m done listing them.”

He nods.

“First, you will never,everkeep something from me. No matter how scared or nervous or whatever you are, you come to me. Youalwayscome to me.”

He nods again.

“Second, I call dibs on the apartment above this place because my father told me I needed to move out by the end of the month.”

Hudson presses his lips together as he tries not to laugh.

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