Page 72 of Falling for Love

The house was quiet except for the occasional rustle from Hayden’s room as he shifted in bed or Lance’s snorts.

It was a stillness I usually cherished—a moment to think, to breathe. But tonight, my thoughts were anything but peaceful.

Liam.

He’d walked out the door not long ago, leaving behind a presence I desperately craved and a thousand questions in my mind.

Things were growing between us, moving in a direction I hadn’t anticipated. And while every interaction left me feeling lighter, happier… there was also this knot in my chest I couldn’t quite unravel.

Could I let this go further?

Should I?

The truth was, Liam felt like something I didn’t dare believe in: a protector.

He wasn’t just kind and funny. He was patient and so incredibly thoughtful. It was impossible not to notice how he looked at me. It was like he thought I was someone worth investing in. Someone worth holding onto.

But did he know? Could he see the fractures in my armor, the parts of me I worked so hard to keep hidden?

I ran a hand through my hair, sighing as I leaned against the counter. My past wasn’t something I brought up.

Ever.

Except for Hayden, my heart was a sealed box. I locked it tightly and stashed it in the back of my mind where it couldn’t haunt me—or anyone else.

Hayden was my only real concern, and as long as I was whole enough to take care of him, I told myself the rest didn’t matter.

But now there was Liam. And as much as I tried to keep him at arm’s length, he had this way of slipping through the cracks, of making me wonder if I could let someone in without everything falling apart.

Could I tell him? Should I?

The thought made my stomach twist. Where would I even start? Hey, Liam, by the way, I have a history of trusting the wrong people. I married someone who made me believe in fairy tales and then turned my life into a waking nightmare. Cool, right?

No. It wasn’t cool. It wasn’t anything close to cool. And I hated the idea of dragging someone else into that mess. Especially someone as good as Liam.

But wasn’t that the point? That he was good? That he might actually care enough to handle it, to stick around even after knowing the full story?

I shook my head, amazed at the tug-of-war in my mind.

Sharing my past felt like opening Pandora’s box, and I was worried that once it was out there, I couldn’t get it back. It’s almost like speaking it made it true.

Not to mention, what if he looked at me differently? What if he thought less of me for staying in a toxic marriage as long asI did? What if he didn’t want to deal with the baggage that came with me?

And yet… what if he did?

What if he wanted to stay?

I swallowed hard, trying to push the mess of thoughts away.

I wasn’t ready.

Not yet.

But would I ever be?

If I waited for the perfect moment, would it ever come? Or would I let Liam slip away because I was too scared to leap?

“Get it together, Evie,” I muttered under my breath as I curled on the couch with a book.

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