Page 49 of Falling Into Forever
“Don’t hold in your emotions, Saylor. I can handle them. I promise.”
She’s shaking her head no with her mouth open, but no words come out.
“I had a lot of time to think last night,” I tell her.
Her gaze falls to mine once more, but her breaths are shallow. Her chest heaves like she’s the one who went for a run.
“Let’s go over the facts. Okay?”
Her lashes flutter, but I’m pretty sure she tilts her head in agreement.
“Good. Fact—I didn’t want to leave.”
“Dante—”
“Fact, you didn’t want me to leave.”
“But—”
“Fact, if I had known what was going on, I never would have left you in the first place.”
“That’s my point—”
“Fact, and this is a pretty fucking big one—I’ve been miserable since the day I stepped on that bus. You’ve haunted my dreams and stolen my days. No one has been able to compare to you. No one has made me happy except for Poppy.”
“Poppy,” she says. With trembling hands, she reaches for her coffee again and lifts it to her lips. She’s hiding behind the mug, and I let her. For now.
“Yeah. That will be an adjustment.” I envision Poppy’s chubby little hands moving Saylor’s face around so she can kiss her wherever she needs a kiss, and my smile grows.
“So, the way I see it, this is our second chance.”
The coffee slips from her hands and crashes to the table, sending light brown liquid everywhere.
She jumps up, knocking my mug over in the process, instantly transforming into that rapid-fire state of hummingbird. I stand calmly, place my hands on her hips, and move her out of the way before grabbing the paper towels while she buzzes around the room.
Right. I need to remember that her reactions are big. And sometimes messy. But always her.
“Second chance. Second chance?”
When I turn, she’s holding a towel to her T-shirt, but her gaze is on me as I cross the room with deliberate steps and stop right in front of her.
“Perhaps not a second chance. How do you feel about a do-over?” She opens her mouth, but I’m only a breath away, and I move in slowly. Painfully slowly, so she’s aware of my intentions. When she makes no attempt to stop me, I seal my lips over hers.
A groan rumbles in my chest and settles deep in my throat. Yes, here’s to do-overs and new beginnings.
CHAPTER13
SAYLOR
Dante moves slowly with his eyes wide and searching mine, like he’s asking for permission. Permission to kiss me. Permission to love me. Permission to keep me.
It’s the last one that has my lips parting on an inhale, even though everything in my body screams that this is a bad idea. But I bled myself dry last night, and now I’m not strong enough to push him away. And what scares me more is that after years of hurting for this man, I don’t want to push him away. Having him for a short time is better than never having him again. Isn’t it?
Am I a terrible person for wanting the comfort only his touch can bring when all I’ve done is cause him pain?
Will I survive the inevitable fall?
His tongue slips out and runs along his bottom lip, leaving a trail of moisture in its wake. Our noses press together, and then his mouth is on mine, stealing all my complaints before I’m able to voice them.
