Page 135 of Fresh Canvas
Gently guiding my hand back to my lap, Val replaced my fingers with his, brushing my hair behind my ear in a gesture so intimate, so loving, that my sob threatened to break free.
His knuckles dragged across the length of my cheek, his eyes rivaling the warmth of a hearth.
“I wanted to tell you this before, but I was a coward. Amantha, I love you. I’mmaddeninglyin love with you. And I’ll spend forever proving it, if you’ll let me.”
Gravity released me then, Val’s declaration of love breaking its hold forever.
“You love me?” I whispered.
His hand caught my chin, the pad of his thumb softly tracing my bottom lip.
“I do. So much.”
And then, Val’s lips slanted over mine, the other hand wrapping around the back of my neck. As if his words didn’t convey the depths of his love, his kiss certainly finished the job.
He pulled away, though his fingers still held my chin captive. Val’s eyes searched mine, willing me to speak the words I’d been hiding.
My heart responded with an earthquake of emotion, cracking my armor and producing a sliver of hope. It was terrifying.
“I… I want so badly to believe you.” My mouth trembled an inch above where he held my chin. “Where was all this weeks ago?”
“Amantha, I’m so sorry for how I handled things. I’ll never be able to apologize enough. I thought I was protecting you from a life of pain with me. I thought a clean break would be easier for you.”
Anger suddenly ignited in my belly.
“That wasn’t for you to decide, Val.” I pulled my chin out of his grasp.
Anxiety flickered across his face. “No… Amantha, you don’t understand.”
“Don’t tell me what I understand!” Without a second thought, my tears and I were running out the door and into the pouring rain.
Val’s words faded behind me. “Amantha, wait!”
VAL
The heels of my hands slammed hard into the door, shoving it open as I chased Amantha into the storm. I knew she was angry. She had every right to be. But, for the first time, I wasn’t going to wallow in self-indulging pity. No, instead I was going to fight for her.
“Amantha, wait!” I yelled again across the parking lot. She stood by the curb, undoubtedly calling a car service to pick her up. I stopped halfway beside my parked car.
“We need to talk about this.”
Her rain-drenched waves fanned out as she whipped around and stomped toward me.
“No, we do not, Val!”
As she got closer, I saw another expression beneath her anger.
Fear.
“I know you’re scared, Amantha,” I called. “I am too.”
“I’m notscared, Val, I’m pissed!” she shouted, tears streaming down her face. “I was doing just fine before you came along! Why make me fall in love with you if you weren’t going to catch me once I did?”
My chest stilled. “You loved me?”
The words were both music to my soul and a knife through my heart. She had loved me, and I messed everything up.
Her expression flickered with alarm at the unwilling declaration she had made. Amantha snapped her jaw shut, anger now warring with embarrassment.
