Page 105 of Embers of You
This time he has hope.
And yet as I leave, I notice the only thing he didn’t say were the three words that may have been the thing to completely win me over.
CHAPTER 49
Jameson
“Doyou think she’ll be back?” Ma asks as Sutton’s car fades from view.
I’m surprisingly confident with my response. “Yeah, I do.”
There’s eight notes, each one has a letter I made a bit more obvious and when she puts them together she’ll see what they spell. I wanted to tell her that I loved her as soon as I saw her today. It took everything in me to hold back and stick to my plan.
I’ve hated this time without her, I wish I could go back to that day and hold her tighter instead of pushing her away. I know I’ll regret it for the rest of my life, but I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d spend forever making it up to her if she’ll let me.
And she will.
Things are finally starting to look up. Ma got into a trial that’s not guaranteed to help, but something makes me feel like it’s the hope that we needed. Maybe something can go right, and the sun is finally going to come out.
I just have to wait a little bit longer.
I gave Sutton the night,but I wasn’t going to wait for her to come to me. I’ve been chasing her since I met her and that’s not going to stop. I’m the one that pushed her away. I’m the one that would have been to blame if I lost her. Which means I’m the one that’s going to fight for her.
Collecting the bouquet of flowers off my passenger seat, I check the bundle of blooms—all of them different—just like I’ve been leaving with the notes. There’s no note this time because I’m going to tell her everything. Even if she hasn’t figured out the secret message I left in the notes, I have to tell her.
I notice Wes leaving his house as I walk around the front of my truck, and we give each other a head nod before he gets in his loud sports car. He drives off as I knock on Sutton’s door. It takes her a minute before she swings it open, her eyes wide as she looks from me to the flowers, then back to me.
“Good morning.” I smile, extending the flowers toward her.
“Morning, what’re you doing here?”
“Did you think I was joking? I told you to take the night. Did you figure it out?”
“Uh, well.” She opens the door a little more. “You can come in.”
Her tone is unsure, and for a second I’m worried she did figure it out and doesn’t feel the same way. I’ve been so sure we were on the same page with our feelings, but for the first time I’m not entirely sure. I don’t let my nerves show as I step inside.Bennet greets me with a nudge to my hand, which I return with a pat on his head.
“So, I can’t remember the order of the notes,” she admits, nervously.
I chuckle lightly as she leads me to her living room where the pieces of paper are spread out on the floor.
“Want me to show you or tell you?”
“Show me,” she says softly, looking down at the flowers in her hand.
I know exactly what order they go in, so I drop down and organize them for her to see. I made a single letter darker on every one to spell out my message. It’s not overly obvious, but I wanted to tell her in some way before I had the opportunity to speak the words.
I LOVE YOU.
“Why are all the flowers different?” she questions.
I stand up in front of her, and she looks up into my eyes. The mossy green I’ve missed seeing just about brings me down to my knees. I lift my hand, tracing my finger along her jaw when I answer, “I realized I didn’t know your favorite flower, so I tried a different one every day, hoping one would be right. And if I wasn’t, then I hoped one of these would be.” I point to the variety I’ve brought her today.
She bites back a smile, and then looks down at the notes. The second she gets it, her breath hitches, and I crowd her back. Ipush her hair over her shoulder, and graze my lips against her ear.
“I love you, Sutton. You’re everything to me. You are my first thought in the morning, my last thought at night. I could never go on without you, and I hope you’ll take me back because I’m going to hold onto you so tight and never let you go.”
I grip her hip, and turn her toward me, she’s clutching the flowers like a lifeline, so I gently remove them from her hands and set them down before pulling her against me. One arm wrapped around her back, the other holding her chin to tilt her head back.
