Page 85 of Crash
“Of you. Of us.”
“Why?”
“Because…I’ve never felt this way before…about anyone. You make me feel so many things, and I wasn’t ready for you to leave me behind. So I left first, but it was a mistake.” She swallowed and blew out an anxious breath. “Please know that it was a mistake to leave you.”
He said nothing for a while, studying her expression, the way she was chewing on his lip. Griffin reached up a hand and pulled her bottom lip away, teeth tearing through her flesh.
“I would have never left you.”
She nodded, but before she could respond, he hushed her.
“I would have never left you,” he repeated. “Because I love you.”
thirty-nine
GRIFFIN
“Ilove you.” His words hung heavily between them. He’d known for a while what this feeling was. The moment he laid eyes on her, he knew he was in trouble. There was no turning back from her. Destiny came screeching into town disguised as this dark-haired beauty.
He tried to convince himself it was simply an attraction. A fleeting interest. Though it was undeniable when he was around her, there was a physical pull that made him acutely aware of her presence. Of her scent and her every movement. The way her laughter seemed to dance in the air between them, or how her radiant smile lit up her entire face.
Anyone could see she was breathtaking. Her tawny skin, smooth and begging to be touched, seemed to glow with an inner light, as if she somehow captured the luminance of the sun and kept it trapped beneath her skin. Her love for sundresses, with their vibrant colors and the waythey flowed around her, was maddening. But it was the piercing gaze of her dark brown eyes that ensnared him instantly. He was a goner.
How does a man like me end up with a woman like her?
Where he was quiet and reserved, she was vibrant and outspoken. She was everything he wasn’t. Though their personalities clashed like fire and ice, their connection was undeniable. The connection between them was so strong, you could almost feel it like a physical being. Their souls were bound together with a thick, rough rope, the fibers intertwining and making them inseparable.
It was sheer luck, a twist of fate, that brought her into his life. He was silently thanking his lucky stars Ricky hadn’t answered her desperate call for help. The thought of Ricky touching her sent a surge of furious, red-hot anger through him. He doubted Quynh would have wanted someone like Ricky, but he hadn’t liked the odds.
Go figure: the one time Ricky played a prank on him, it helped him land the woman of his dreams. His confession left Quynh speechless, her eyes wide. A look of disbelief painted across her face, as if it were the most absurd thing anyone ever said to her.
He wondered if any other man had ever said those words to her. Irrational jealousy threatened to consume him at the thought. Griffin wanted to be her first. And her last.
He’d make certain she’d never want for anything.He pledged to provide for her completely. First things first. He needed to figure out what she wanted.
“You don’t need to say anything, sunshine. Just know that I love you,” he reassured her. It wasn’t the ideal time or place to confess the true nature of his feelings for her, but it was now or never.
She rested her head against his forehead, her hands tangling with the long strands of hair at the nape of his neck, making him shiver with pleasure.
“Can I tell you something?” she whispered, voice tentative, as if unsure if she should say what was on her mind.
“Anything.”
“I know it’s crazy, but…I love you, too.”
A warmth spread through Griffin’s chest, making it three times larger with her confession. He let out a breath of relief.
“Thank god,” he said with a smile as he cupped her face and gently freed her lower lip from her teeth. “You’re mine.” He crushed his lips against hers in a passionate kiss before she could refute his statement.
They still needed to figure out the next steps, but for now, this was enough.
Griffin lay awake in bed later that night. Quynh was curled around him, her head on his chest, while he held her close. They didn’t really talk about what came next after their heartfelt confessions. The future still loomed ahead of them. Though he was confident they’d make it work, he was leery of letting fate decide their future.
He knew one thing for sure. He was not leaving here empty-handed. No matter how long it took, he was prepared to sacrifice everything to win her over. He’d never been in a long-distance relationship before, but it would be worth it to have Quynh in his life.
He could manage the shop on weekends and fly in to be with her every weekend if she wanted him to.
Whatever the resolution, he would do whatever was necessary to make sure they had a future together. There was no way he would let Quynh walk away from him again.
