Page 84 of Finally Forever
“I got to meet her,” I blurt. “Sort of. She’s even prettier in person—well, over the phone. Riley introduced me when she first called. She said hi to Kensie and Nathan, too. I guess they’re all pretty close.”
“It seems that way.” He watches Nathan as he sets Kensie on her feet and kisses her.
“Your lips are freezing,” Nathan says and glances at us. “I’m taking this one inside to warm up.”
They stroll into the house, giggling and whispering to each other.
“Are you cold?” Sebastian asks.
“I’m okay.” I gulp, my gaze on the patchy snow covering the ground, and force words out that might cause friction between us. “Is something going on that you don’t want to tell me about?”
He inhales, his focus forward on the evergreens. “What makes you say that?”
I turn to him. “I know you. You used to get like this when your family and changes regarding them caused concern.”
“You’re safe. Everyone is safe. I promise.”
My jaw clamps tight. “That’s not what I asked. You have been sneaking off. Whenever you sneak off, something is going on.”
“I’ve been taking breaks. This is a lot for me.”
“I thought you were having fun.”
“I have been. It’s still a lot. Everyone’s lives have changed. My mind is stuck in the past. It’s frustrating.”
My anger ebbs as quickly as it had come. I slip my hand into the crook of his elbow and rest my head against his shoulder. “I know. I’m sorry.”
He doesn’t initiate contact with me unless we’re in the bedroom, but he’s been letting me touch him intimately out of the bedroom and around others. I’m careful about it, though, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.
His bicep tightens.
“What?” I tilt my head to look at his face.
“Nothing.” His easy tone contradicts the sudden tension in his body.
Nothing, my ass. We’ve been growing closer, or so I’d thought. He listens to me talk about our past and asks questions about the pictures I show him. I wish I had more videos of us. I show him those too, and I caught him smiling a few times while watching them, although his happy reaction seemed unconscious. I try not to linger on any of that. His interest says a lot, but some part of me worries it’s all for show, like he has an ulterior motive.
“You can trust me. I know you still don’t remember our relationship, but I would never betray you, even if this doesn’t…” My voice trails off as I realize the words I’m about to speak.Even if this doesn’t work out.I haven’t once thought that, but now that I have, I fear I won’t be able to let it go. It’s out there. He heard it, and I can see him using that mistaken statement as an excuse to leave me.
My heart squeezes so tight I struggle to breathe. Tears burn my eyes. Dammit. I don’t want to cry. I don’t want to think of us as final, but now I am. And so is he—possibly.
I use my glove to wipe away stray tears that slip from my eyes and turn away from him. “Excuse me.” I walk toward the front door.
“Ainsley,” he says, halting me in my tracks.
I wait with my back to him as he approaches.
He steps in front of me and touches my chin, lifting my face to his.
I close my burning eyes.
“Look at me,” he urges, his tone gentle.
I swallow the emotions still crawling up my throat and open my eyes.
Torment shows on his pinched features. “I don’t like seeing you like this. It…bothers me. I’m not used to being bothered in this way.”
“We’re out of time, aren’t we?”
