Page 51 of Seized by Love at Seaside
Surprised by his concern, she tossed her purse in her car, noticing a sheen of purpose hovering in his eyes. “Yeah. I know. It’s a bar and restaurant. The Taproom, I think it’s called. They’re not serving drinks. She’s going just for the event itself.”
He touched her lower back, and his gaze turned thoughtful. “I was hoping we could talk. I’m sorry I didn’t stay last night.”
“It’s okay. I understand.” She tried to smile, but couldn’t muster it, even though she was already so much happier than she had been just a day ago. She was rushing and confused, and wanted so desperately to stay there and talk things through so they could move forward together and get back to that magical place they’d shared—but she was scared to death they might never get that far.
“Thank you for the sweet note this morning,” he said with a warm smile that stole her breath, “but I missed my sugary treat.”
“I wasn’t sure you’d want them now that you know why I bake so often.” She’d left a clean coffee mug beside a fresh pot of coffee for him, along with a note thanking him for being understanding the night before, but she’d been too conflicted to leave a cupcake.
“Lizzie, there’s so much we need to talk about.”
“I know you need time to figure out if you want to be with me, and I get that.”
“I want to be with you, Lizzie.” His voice went serious and soft at the same time, something she was sure only he could pull off. “Wantisn’t the issue. You have to know that. And I didn’t mean to upset you last night by leaving.”
“I’m not upset that you didn’t stay. It just hurt, and I don’t know where we stand—”
“Where we stand is that I want to try to make this work. We have a lot to talk through, but I know we can get past this.”
“You…you do?”
“I do, Lizzie.”
The sincerity in his voice tugged at her heart. But she didn’t have time to talk through things now. She had to get Maddy, but she did want to tell him what she’d wanted to say last night.
“I didn’t get to thank you last night for convincing me to tell Sky. I didn’t get to say much of anything, because my heart was going crazy and my mind was in tatters—in the very best kind of tatters, of course.” She felt her cheeks flush.
He stepped in closer, holding her gaze, and placed his hands on her hips. His voice was smooth, rich, comforting. “I wasn’t trying to convince you of anything, and I’m sorry I overreacted.”
She knew she should react to his apology, but she still hadn’t decided if he’d overreacted or not. What she did know was that she had to tell him what was circling around in her head.
“I know you weren’t, but I told Sky about the webcast, and it was like crawling out from under a dark cloud. I never knew my secret was weighing so heavily on me, but you were right. I was rationalizing in order to continue. I’m planning to tell Madison and my parents tonight. As difficult as it was to come clean, Blue, it was also freeing, and I’m thankful that you opened my eyes to what my life had become.”
“You told Sky?”
She saw the surprise in his eyes, and as he drew her closer, the rest of what she’d been holding back tumbled out.
“I did, and Blue, being with you is everything. I never knew that I could miss you so much after only one day. But when we were apart, a piece of me was missing. I haven’t been able to think straight all day, and I just feel empty. Being close to you again made me think about what I really wanted and what I needed. I want to be with you, Blue.”
He breathed a relieved sigh and embraced her. “Thank goodness, because I can’t go another day without you.”
She forced herself to push back, unwilling to fool herself or him. “I care for you a great deal, and I know that you still care for me, and that gives me hope for us. But after giving it probably way too much thought, I’m certain that I need to continue with the webcast, for Maddy’s sake.”
His brows knitted together in confusion.
“I made a commitment to her education, and that’s a commitment I won’t back down from. It’s only two more years, which I know must feel like a lifetime to you.” Needing the connection and for him to realize how strongly she meant what she was about to say, she pressed her hand to his chest, surprised to feel how fast his heart was beating. “When you’ve been doing this as long as I have, you realize that two years will go fast. I still can’t believe that you had been asking me out for a year before I finally came to my senses. A year went quickly, Blue, didn’t it?”Please say yes. Please, please say yes.
“That was the longest year of my life,” he answered with a hint of exasperationanda smile. “You infiltrated my dreams and lingered in my mind every minute of every day. Two years is a ridiculously long time. This is all new for me, so I don’t really know what I’m dealing with, but I know what I want, Lizzie, and I want to be with you.”
She held her breath for abut…
He swallowed hard, sending his Adam’s apple bouncing up his neck. “I saw you taping last night. I only watched for a minute, but—”
“You watched me?”Oh no. That’s the kiss of death.
“I couldn’t help it. I was getting ready to leave and I heard you talking, and…I’m sorry. I went down and watched from the stairs for just a few minutes.” He reached up and touched her cheek. “But what I saw was a woman who was acting, notmyLizzie. On some level I’ve understood that the whole time, but on a deeper, more intimate level, there was still a twinge of something gnawing at me.”
She dropped her gaze, unable to take much more. She was already standing on a precipice and was afraid that one strong gust of wind would send her over the edge.
