Page 51 of Chasing I Do
“So you came for another tasting?” she asked, playing with one of the flower buds. It was a stargazer, her favorite.
He watched her fingers dance along the bouquet, and let out a frustrated groan. “No, I came here to see if you were all right. I heard my mom paid you a visit.”
She looked at the flowers and sadness swelled as the magic slowly faded. “Oh, so these are anI’m sorry my mom’s crazy, please forgive me,bribe?”
“No. These I got before I talked to my mom.” He took one of the flowers and ran it along her cheekbone, the silkiness of the petals erotic against her skin. “These areYou are so fucking beautiful I can’t get you off my mindflowers.”
“Oh,” she whispered.
“Yeah, oh.” He scooted closer, their bodies brushing. “So, you want to talk about today?”
“Not really.” There was already a conversation in progress that she was more interested in continuing. “But Jillian thinks we should talk about today, and she’s usually right about those kind of things.”
“Ah, and what did Jillian say?”
“That I should open up to you. Tell you the problem so we can figure out a solution together.”
“Jillian is a smart woman.” Gage set the flowers on the counter and took her hand. Leading her to the family room, he pushed aside a pile of Kylie’s dress up clothes, and took a seat.
“It’s kind of annoying.” Darcy started to sit next to Gage. “She has this way of cutting to the, whoa, what are you doing?”
Moments before her bottom hit the sofa, Gage tugged her sideways and into his lap.
“I don’t want there to be distance when we talk. The whole way here, all I could think about was this gap that could have formed and I didn’t like how it made me feel.” He leaned back and pulled her against his chest. “I like how this feels though.”
“Me too,” she whispered, and pulled her feet up so she could curl up in his lap.
“I’m sorry about my mom,” Gage began. “I know there is no excuse for what she said, or for barging in on you after she promised to wait until Kylie was ready. But she is just sad and lonely and scared. She thinks if she can control everything, then she won’t experience loss, when all she’s doing is pushing everyone away.”
Wasn’t that what Jillian had just accused her of doing? She was too scared to open up and really trust someone, for fear of being let down. But if she never lowered her walls and let someone in, she was denying herself the joy of finding companionship.
Love.
Darcy tilted her chin up toward Gage, choosing her words carefully. “I can understand where she is coming from. She’s lost a lot in her lifetime. And I thought about just calling the whole thing off.”
Gage stopped breathing. She could actually feel his lungs cling to the oxygen, refusing to let go.
“But then I thought of you.” She touched his cheek. “How much laughter and joy you’ve brought into my life in just a few short weeks, and how if I had been too scared Kylie would have missed out on all of that too. How I would have missed out on this. I would have missed out on you, Gage, and I can’t even imagine what that would have been like.”
At her words, Gage released the breath. The stress lines bracketing his mouth softened and that terrified expression vanished. And a beautiful warmth spread through her entire body.
“I don’t trust your mom, but I trust you,” she said, realizing that it was the truth. She’d trusted Gage from the moment they’d met.
Although it had felt as if he’d broken that trust when Kyle died, now she knew that he hadn’t. He hadn’t abandoned her out of anger, or even turned his back on her. He’d done what he’d thought was best—for the both of them.
And now it was time to for her to be honest.
“What I’m saying is that I trust in what we have. More than my fear of being hurt or the need to cling to control. More than the little voice in my head that reminds me everyone I have ever trusted has let me down.” And looking into those deep blue eyes, she let go—of all of it. The history, the baggage, the fear. Leaving room for whatever magical road this relationship might take. “I am willing to trust what I love most to you, Gage. And that’s my heart and my daughter.”
The air vibrated between them, rich and real, and neither one of them shied away. They stayed in the moment, so much being said, yet no words were exchanged. But the longer they stared, the calmer Darcy felt, and the more she realized that this—thiswas what she’d been looking her entire life for.
He was who she had been waiting for. Which was ridiculous since he’d been in front of her the whole time. She’d just been too scared to admit it.
“I’ve got you,” he said, his voice so rough it was a nearly a growl. “I know how hard your trust is to come by, and what a beautiful gift it is, so I promise you that I will never betray that gift again. Ever. My father was a man of his word, and I want to be that kind of man. For you and for Kylie.”
Ever so slowly he took her lips, gently—no, lovingly—kissing her. It wasn’t sexual or leading, it was a promise. A beautiful vow he was making to her. She could feel his honesty, sense his devotion, and taste his love.
Love.
