Page 53 of Hidden Desires

“What do you mean?”

“Well”—she sat up to wrap the blankets around her—“I always pictured my life would be like the fairy tales. My prince would ride up on a white horse and rescue me from the evil in my life and fight until death for my love. And then we’d live happily ever after.” Autumn chuckled. “Needless to say, I don’t believe in fairy tales anymore.”

“You wouldn’t let anyone rescue you even if it did happen.” His lips tilted upward. “You’re too hardheaded.”

She shrugged. “Probably. The exact moment I fell in love with you was our last night together. I convinced you to go on a picnic with me and we spent time talking about life and where we wanted to go. You were just about to head out to the Amazon with my dad, and I was about to enroll in vet school. We had a heart-to-heart discussion for the longest time that ended with sweet lovemaking under the stars right there in my Dad’s field. I suppose I was stupid and too young to know anything, but to me, that night meant everything.”

Autumn reached for his hand. “My point is, I loved you because I wanted to. I didn’t need a single reason but I have plenty. Aside from your cocky attitude, I saw a different part of you that night which made me fall head over heels faster than anything. It’s a choice I made by myself that night, and it’s a choice I made all over again when you walked back into my life.”

“And I walked out on you.”

“You did the right thing.” Autumn brushed her thumb along the back of his hand. “Granted, you handled it in a very crappy way, but neither one of us was truly ready for a real relationship. We weren’t ready for marriage or kids at that age, and we sure as hell had way too much youth to get out of our systems. But now we’ve got a second chance.”

Jackson pulled her to him. “You’re an amazing woman, do you know that? I don’t know what it is about you but you make everything more bearable. I love you, Autumn. I never thought I’d ever say those words to another human being in my life, but I do. I love you and you mean more to me than what words can describe.”

Autumn rested her cheek against his shoulder. “Ditto.”

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