Page 76 of Love Story

I clutched his shirt, holding on as if he were my lifeline.The kiss deepened, heat building between us, and for one perfect moment, the weight of the world disappeared.There was just Sam, steady and sure, his presence yanking me from the edge.

When he pulled back, his forehead rested against mine.“See?”he whispered, his breath warm against my lips.“You’re okay.”

I let out a shaky exhale, my chest lighter than it had been all day.“You have no idea how much I needed that.”

Sam’s lips quirked in a small smile, his thumb brushing my cheek.“I think I do.”

“Now explain to me why we’re visiting a prison.

“I’mvisiting a prison,” I corrected him.

He huffed a laugh and kissed my forehead.“It’s cute that you think you’re going alone, and I love you.”

What?How could he say that, what with everything in my head and—

“Say it,” he murmured.“Tell me what you’re feeling right now.”

“Less scared and confused now that you’re here.”I nestled my face into the crook of his neck.

“I love you, Ben,” he repeated.

The words spilled out of me.“I love you, too.”

“Well, that’s good then.”

“Yeah.”

Then he pushed me onto the bed, his arms wrapping around me as he cradled me close.His breath was warm against my ear, and his voice was steady but tinged with something raw and vulnerable.

“I’m not letting you leave me again,” he murmured, his words firm but teasing enough to make me smile.“And I don’t mean that in a serial killer stalker kind of way.”

I couldn’t help it—I laughed, the sound bubbling up, breaking the tension.Sam chuckled too, his forehead resting against mine as our laughter merged into something softer, something that felt like relief.

There was a knock on the door, and I peered through the peephole—housekeeping?I didn’t recognize the woman, and I opened up.

She handed me a bag.“Your friends left this, and said they’d call when they got home.”

I placed Sam’s bag inside the door and turned to relay the message, but he was right there.

“They didn’t stay,” I said, and it was more of a question than a statement.

Sam shrugged.“They know I wouldn’t have left; they know me better than I know myself.”

And then, we were kissing again with a tenderness that made my heart ache Between kisses, we laughed again, the sound lighter now, freer.I clung to him, my fingers digging into his back, desperate to hold onto the certainty he seemed to radiate.He was solid and grounded—everything I hadn’t felt since I’d left him.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, I believed everything might be okay.

I whispered it to make it feel real.“I think we’re going to be okay.”

Sam pulled back enough to look into my eyes, his own filled with warmth and determination.“We are,” he said, his voice steady.“Because we’re doing this together.”

THE WAITING ROOMchair was hard and unforgiving, and I’d been shifting in it for the past twenty minutes, trying not to jump out of my skin.I wasn’t allowed in with Ben, which was bad enough, but Theo, the confident, take-no-prisoners lawyer, had gone in with him.Not that I was jealous of Theo—okay, maybe a little.But mostly, I just wanted to be the one by Ben’s side, glaring at this Brad guy and threatening him into handing over whatever it took to keep Ben out of this mess.

My fingers drummed a restless rhythm on my knees.The office smelled of coffee and printer toner, and the hum of the fluorescent lights above felt as if it was mocking me.What was taking so long?What if Brad was jerking them around?What if this was a game and they walked out with nothing?

I leaned forward, elbows on my thighs, staring at the door as if I could will it to open.Nothing.Another minute passed.My stomach twisted tighter with every tick of the clock.

Then, at last, the door opened, and Theo stepped out first, his face like thunder.My heart dropped.I shot up from the chair so fast it skidded backward across the linoleum floor.

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