Page 64 of Some Saviors Can Break You

“You scare me, Eli,” Florence admitted.

“Why, princess?” While he was pleased that she was admitting her fears to him if she didn't tell him everything that was running through her pretty, blonde head, then he didn't know how to help her overcome her fears.

“Because you have the power to crush me. You know how I grew up, I never had anyone there for me, even after her boyfriend tried to kill me, my mom wasn't interested in her children. My brother was gone by my sixteenth birthday, and I was on my own. I’ve never let anyone in, and if I did, I was planning on it being some boring, average looking guy with a boring job. Not you. You’re smart, funny, charming, rich, handsome, and ridiculously sexy, you're the opposite of what I thought I wanted, and yet I want you. I want to move in with you and see where this goes, but if it doesn’t work out, I’ll be broken.”

“No one can break you, Florence,” he said softly. “You are the strongest woman I've ever met, and even if things didn't work out between us you’d be okay. But things are going to work out, I don’t just want you to move in here, I want to marry you, have kids with you, and grow old with you. I know that scares you and I’ll give you time to adjust to the idea, but it is what it is so get used to it.” With that, he kissed her forehead then took her hand and led her to the kitchen. “So, I owe you dinner, and a little birdie told me that you have a slight obsession with ice cream.” Eli opened the freezer door to show her what was inside.

“There has to be at least twenty flavors in there.” Florence laughed.

“And that’s not all.” He opened the cupboard door to reveal what his personal assistant had organized for him today. “We also have every single topping that you can think of. We have sprinkles, chocolate chips, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, caramel sauce, fudge toppings, nuts, cherries, and about a dozen other things.”

“It looks like you bought out the whole store.” Florence laughed again.

“My girl likes ice cream, then she gets ice cream.”

“Your girl, huh?”

“You got a problem with that?”

“No, so long as you’re my guy.”

“Deal.”

“Deal.”

“Seal it with a kiss?”

“Can't say no to that.”

Chapter

Eleven

February 19th

6:18 A.M.

She had a spring in her step.

It was a weird saying, and if you’d asked her before today, Florence would have said that nobody could have a spring in their step, it just wasn't possible. It sounded odd and made her picture a big coiled spring attached to the bottom of a pair of shoes, making them bounce as they walked.

As weird as it sounded, that was exactly how it felt.

It was like she was bounding down the sidewalk, springing up to the beautiful pre-dawn sky with each step she took.

The change in her was all because of Eli.

Last night, she had let go of the fear that had engulfed her, it had been like throwing herself off the roof of a fifty-story building, but she knew that Eli was waiting at the bottom to catch her and that made everything okay.

It was so freeing to finally have let go of the heavy burden she had carried most of her life. Not only did she have a job sheloved, and a safe place to live where she didn't have to worry about going to bed hungry or washing in a river, but she had someone to share her life with.

Florence couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.

She really had someone who wanted to be with her. Eli was everything she’d thought she had to avoid at all costs, and yet it turned out he was everything that she had needed in her life.

At her building, she paused to stare up at the sky for a moment. Usually, she was so busy with her job and the gym that she didn't take time to just be and enjoy the sunrise. As a child, she’d often been out of the house before dawn, washing in the river so nobody would see her, then once she was done she would sit in the clearing near where her mother’s trailer was, lean against the sturdy trunk of an old pine tree, and watch as the sun rose. She’d loved to watch as the sky changed color, going from the dark inky blue of night to a pale white then erupting into a mess of pinks, yellows, and reds. It was a stunning spectacle and had reminded her that life was bigger than her and her problems. Knowing that had reassured her, given her the strength to face each new day.

Now, as she watched another sunrise, her back leaning against her building, in a very different setting than where she had grown up, she got that same feeling. The world was bigger than she was, and carrying around old hurt and fears was only holding her back, preventing her from living life to the fullest.

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