Page 151 of Falling Overboard

He was right. I had once sworn that I’d never take out a loan or work with a rich person and yet here I was. There could be another path for Hunter, too. “I happen to know one who has decided he’s in the business of helping people achieve their dreams,” I said.

He nodded, since he knew exactly who I was talking about, given that he was the one who had sent Rodney to me.

“Thank you for that,” I said. “Sending Rodney here.”

“You deserve to have your dream, too,” he said. “I wasn’t going to let you lose that.”

I loved him so much.

“Back to what I was saying, when I talked to my parents, my dad accused me again of not finishing what I started. And this time he’s right. I don’t want to finish what I started with you. I don’t want it to ever be over between us.”

That fluttering in my belly increased to full-on flapping. “Oh.”

“When I first met you,” he said as he took a step closer to me, “I could see how hard you were fighting, how you wanted to be stronger than the panic attack, and I admired you for it. I still do admire you. I think you’re one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. Sometimes I think you can’t possibly be real and that I must have made you up.”

“I know exactly what you mean.”

That earned me a tired but hopeful smile. “You took my breath away that first day and I felt like I haven’t caught it since. I also knew that you deserved better than me. But I didn’t want to see you with someone else, so I tried to become better for you. Even when you left, I thought I had to open the center and become successful to be goodenough for you. But then I realized that the only thing I wanted from you was you. And I hoped that just me would be enough for you.”

How could I have ever doubted this man?

“That night I saw you sitting with Rodney ... it did something to me,” he went on. “You are so kind and caring, and even though I’d already been falling for you, that was when I completed the journey. I realized that I was in love with you. You are the kind of person I want in my life. The kind of person I can see building a future with.”

This was so much more than I had expected him to say.

Another step closer. “I have a lot of regrets in my life, Lucky. After I lost Harper, I discovered that I have this tendency to hold on too tightly to things that matter to me. I was worried that I was doing that with you, which was why I backed off and didn’t chase after you. Made sure to give you space. I wish that I had walked off the boat with you. I hope you’ve figured out whatever you need to because I want to be with you. And I’m afraid this time I’m going to hold on as tight as I can.”

Again Hunter was being honest and up front about what he wanted. He wasn’t playing games or making me be vulnerable first. He was putting his whole heart on the line for me. That was how much he loved and trusted me. I had been the worst kind of fool.

“You know nothing happened with Emilie, don’t you?” he asked.

“Yes,” I immediately responded. I had to take a step back because he was close enough now that it would take very little for us to be touching. And the second he touched me, this would all be over. There were things that I needed to say first.

“I don’t like how I reacted,” I confessed to him. “I should have immediately believed you. I know who you are and I know that you wouldn’t cheat on me. I’m sorry that I didn’t realize it right away. That’s not how you should treat someone you love.”

He startled slightly, as if my words surprised him.

“You gave me your trust so easily and I held back,” I said. “Some part of me didn’t want to believe in you, in us, and I expected to gethurt. I was always trying to protect myself instead of opening up to what you offered. And so when the worst happened, it was like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Which wasn’t fair to you.”

I let out a deep sigh, feeling ashamed of my actions where he was concerned. “I wouldn’t blame you for being angry with me.”

“I was never angry with you,” he interjected.

“Georgia accidentally got in my head,” I said. “I think she was trying to be helpful, but she made me second-guess everything, including myself. She suggested that the only reason you liked me was because you’d had to chase me, and it messed with my head.”

“Lucky, if you’d pulled me into your bed the first night, I would still be here, wanting you. Loving you. I didn’t fall for you because you made me pursue you. I love you because of who you are.”

My throat went tight, and my chest ached. I wanted to cry. “Well, I need for you to know that I won’t do something like that again. I want you to be able to trust in me the way that I trust you.”

“I know that’s hard for you,” he said. “To trust someone else.”

“When it comes to you? It’s not. I’m sorry that it took me this long to figure it out. I should have met you in Portofino. I shouldn’t have doubted you. I’m sorry that I did.”

“Your sister told me about them telling you to come home. I know you needed a safe place to land and to think. I’m glad you have them back in your life. I would have come with you if you’d asked. I have missed you so much these last two weeks.”

I had missed him, too. “I didn’t want you to lose your job, and I think deep down I knew you’d come with me, too.”

“My Lucky,” he said, reaching for me, and this time I let him. He held me to him tightly, like he was never going to let me go again. “Always sacrificing for the people you love. You don’t have to do that for me anymore. I will always be there for you.”

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