Page 50 of Reluctantly Yours

Now I knew I was dreaming.Travis Knight admitting he was wrong?Admitting he was a coward?What really blew me away was how much I wanted to correct him and make him feel better.

I still loved him.

I didn’t want to hurt him.

Somehow, I managed to keep my mouth shut before he continued.“The truth is, I love you.I didn’t know it was possible for me after everything that happened back then.Nicola came back and reared her ugly head, and it reminded me of everything I thought I had gotten past.You helped me get through it all.I was only afraid to admit it.”

I liked the words he used.They made my heart flutter like a hummingbird’s wings and had me blinking back tears.I couldn’t cry.Not yet, not over words he might not mean.I couldn’t jump in headfirst and break my heart this time.“What about her?”I had to know.He hadn’t mentioned her after that night.

A brief smile passed over his mouth.“Oh, that was easy.All it took was my lawyer reminding her lawyer that according to the terms of our divorce agreement, she was not supposed to step foot on my property again.She made a mistake, standing right in front of the camera.”He rolled his eyes and snickered.

That was a relief.Sofia didn’t need to be all mixed up in her mother’s craziness.

But Sofia wasn’t the only one involved here.I could not keep ignoring my feelings.“You were right.I was afraid to admit you crushed me.And you threw it in my face,” I added when he cringed.

“I was on the defensive.I was stupid.”

“You were,” I agreed.“And it would be stupid of me not to worry you’d do it again.How do I know you won’t shut down on me and block me out?”

“I will never stop hating myself for that.”He pulled up the chair Mom had sat in earlier, leaving it close enough that our knees touched.I wondered if I should push my chair back, but I didn’t want to.I wanted to be closer.“It was all out of fear of the past and shame.Embarrassment.I’m not proud of myself.And I am so sorry you had to suffer because of it.”

His touch on my hand was tentative.So incredibly missed and craved too.“I love you.I didn’t want you to leave.The night we fought, when I told you everything, I walked in the front door ready to tell you I wanted you to stay with us.”

I wanted with all my heart to believe him, but the memory of sleepless, tear-filled nights wouldn’t let me.“Are you just saying that?”

He shook his head firmly.“Absolutely not.This week without you has been hell.And the week before that, before you left.All I wanted was to touch you and hold you because when I do, my life finally makes sense.You and me, we make perfect sense.”

Like the perfect sense, it made for my hand to fit against his.I almost didn’t want it to.I didn’t want to make it possible for him to hurt me again, but at the same time, I let him entwine his fingers with mine.“How do I know somebody else isn’t going to show up one day and throw everything upside down?”I asked since there had been no preparing myself for Nicola.“I can’t go through that again.”

“I’ll tell you everything there is to know about me.You’ll get sick of hearing about me before long, but it’ll be worth it if it means you know me and trust me the way I’m ready to.”

He lifted my hand and pressed his lips to my palm, closing his eyes.“Please,” he whispered against my skin.“Come back with me.Let me love you.”

How could I say no to that?I couldn’t.I had no choice but to lean in and throw my arms around his neck.“I love you,” I whispered through the tears streaming down my cheeks.“But don’t ever do that again.”

“I won’t, I swear.”He stood and pulled me to my feet, his arms closing around me and pulling me tight against him.“I will never hurt you again.”

His mouth found my ear, my jaw, and my cheek before landing on my upturned lips.Yes.My heart soared, and my head spun as everything I wished for came true all at once.Life was too short to hold grudges, to be afraid.It meant taking chances and having a little faith.Not out of some misguided compulsion to avoid the hard things in life, either.I wasn’t running away from anything now.I was running toward it.I was ready to do that.

But first, reality knocked on the back of my mind.“What are we doing?You’ve got this huge event you’re missing.Shouldn’t you go back?Can you even do that?”

“I’m not going back without you.The ship can set off without me, but I should make an appearance at the party tonight.”With another kiss, he announced, “I’m going to need you on my arm.”

“Are you sure?I mean, I’m?—”

“The woman I love, in the sexy little red dress you wore that night.”He didn’t have to describe it further than that.We both knew exactly what he meant.

“That’s a summer dress.I’d freeze.”

“Then we’ll have ten dresses sent up to the suite for you to choose from when we get there,” he suggested.“But we need to get moving.What else do you need?You can do your hair and makeup and all that on the jet.We’ll stop along the way to the airport for whatever you need.”

I could barely think with everything he threw at me.“This is crazy.Do you know how crazy this is?”Yet it felt so right.All of it.

Especially Sofia barreling into the room.“Are you friends again?Are you coming with us?”she asked, taking my hand in hers.

This might have been the best part.Getting the chance to say, “Yes, sweetie.I’m going back with you.I’m not going to leave you again.”

Her joy-filled shrieks were music to my ears.

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