Page 338 of Boots, Bucket Lists & Bad Ideas
I blink. “No. I didn’t assume anything.”
“I’m not ready to have kids.”
Who the fuck said anything about kids? I just got her back, and I want to spend time with her. I’m not Levi. A kid isn’t where my head is at. Hell, I might never want a kid. And I’d tell her that if she gave me a chance.
“I’m not a Wilde. Not now, not down the road. Just because I’ve picked you, doesn’t mean everything else I’ve built doesn’t matter.”
My shoulders tighten. “Whoa. Hold on. I haven’t said any of this.”
“Really? Because from where I’m standing, it sounds like everyone expects me to fold into your life like mine doesn’t count.”
“I thought we were building something.” My voice rises with hers. “Together.”
“Together in your house? On your land? With your name? You offering me your dad’s tractor too?”
I step toward her, hands out like I think I can still steady this thing. “I’m offering you everything I have.”
She shakes her head. “Not if it erases me.”
“I don’t want it to erase any of you. I love everything about you.”
“I don’t want to be a Wilde!” She screams it so loud, my insides jerk.
I stare at her, breathing hard. For a second, I don’t say anything.
Then, when I do speak, it’s quiet and cold. “I didn’t realize you still hate my family more than you love me.”
Her mouth opens, then closes.
No objection.
No standing up for us.
“I wouldn’t care if I lived in a cardboard box as long as it was with you.” I take another step toward her. “I would buy land with you. I would marry you. Hell, I’d take your last name. But you can’t hate my family. Not now. Not when they’ve all tried so fucking hard to accommodate your sister. Your family.”
She swallows. That’s her response.
Unbelievable.
I shake my head. “I’ve forgiven your family. I’ve forgiven all the shitty choices we’ve all made in the name of this feud. But if either of us has earned a right to hate a family, I’d be at the front of that line.”
The words drop like stones.
Hard.
Final.
“What the hell does that mean?” Her voice snaps out like a whip.
My jaw clenches. My hands curl into fists at my sides. I didn’t want to tell her. Fuck, I don’t want to tell her. But I want her to see that the step I’ve made here isn’t a small one. My choice to be with her wasn’t taken lightly.
I rake my hand through my hair. “I don’t want to say it out of anger.”
“Then why did you bring it up?”
“Because it’s a big fucking deal to me.”
“What is?”
