Page 128 of The Trade

“You know, I was so fucking upset when you snuck out on me.” His jaw is firmly set. “Like it was just some meaningless one-night stand.”

“I know,” I murmur, shoulders slumped. “And I’m sorry, I should’ve never done that. I know we laid everything out on the table that night, but you deserved a proper goodbye before I left for the whole summer.”

“Yeah, I won’t lie, my feelings were really fucking hurt by that.” He gulps low in his throat. “Then yesterday, I finally decided I was done being hurt. Or, at least, I tried to tell myself I was.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just wanted to stop feeling so miserable, you know?” He reaches for my hand, pulling it onto his lap. “Cam convinced me to go out with him. We drank a bit, shot some pool, and then I got hit on by this girl.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He squeezes my hand. “I bought her a drink.”

“West.” I pull back, stomach dropping. “If this is going where I think it’s going, I really don’t need to hear it.”

He shifts toward me, his strong fingers wrapping around my knee. “I need to say this to you.”

I turn my head. “You went home with her, didn’t you?”

His nostrils flare. “No, I didn’t.”

“Okay?”

“I’ve been in a fucked-up headspace since you left. So, I won’t lie to you.” A heavy puff of air escapes his lips. “The thought briefly crossed my mind. For just a split second ...before I felt like puking.”

My shoulders relax. “Oh.”

“Nothing happened,” he assures me. “I paid for her drink and then hightailed it out of there.”

A flush of heat rises up my neck, colored by a mixture of relief and confusion. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Jade, I don’t want to be with anyone that’s not you. I realized this a long fucking time ago, but last night just solidified that fact.”

His hand works its way around the back of my neck. “I know I begged to keep you. I basically asked you to break my heart. But then I just let you leave without laying all my cards on the table. And for that, I’m the one that’s sorry.”

“You don’t owe me any apologies.” I shake my head, his grip tightening around me. “Not anymore.”

“I do, though,” he argues. “Because I didn’t fight for you the way I should have. Sure, I asked for your forgiveness. I tried, and clearly failed, to respect your decisions. But in the end, I still kept a piece of my heart from you.”

“I’m the one that fucked up this time,” I whisper. “I said I wanted a break because it’d be best for both of us. But now I know that I was just trying to protect myself, that I was just too scared to try again.”

“And I don’t blame you for that.” He scoots closer, pressing his forehead against mine. “What I’m trying to say is that I love you, Jade.”

My heart sputters, mouth running dry as I register those three little words.

“You what?” I finally manage to squeak out.

“I love you. I’m in love with you,” he clarifies, sincerity reflected in his gaze. “And if I have to wait an entire summer for you to let your guard down, then so be it. The truth is, I’m so far from done with you.”

A dull throb pulses behind my temples. There are so many words I want to say, but my mind is twisting, turning, catapulting off a cliff. “You flew all the way here just to tell me this in person?”

“I did.” His thumb presses against my cheek, tilting my head until our gazes meet. There’s a scorching heat behind those molten caramel eyes of his. “Actually, I also came to do this.”

He draws me in, soft lips pressing against mine. Unlike the last kiss we shared, there’s no longer a sense of urgency or desperate longing behind it. This time, his kiss is filled with certainty. It’s purposeful, deliberate, and bolstered by unwavering confidence.

And when he finally pulls back, his eyes are shining.

“Turns out I passed English Lit.” He swipes a thumb across my bottom lip. “Told you I’d come to collect.”

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