Page 57 of Devoured

"You're so hot and cold. I never know how you're going to react to things. It's unsettling. And confusing."

"There's nothing to be confused about anymore. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."I promise, Penny.I placed a gentle kiss against her lips.

"Do I make you nervous too?" she asked.

I glanced down at her hand on my chest. She could probably feel how fast my heart was racing. "Sometimes. I'm nervous right now."

"Why?" She rubbed her hand against the scruff on my cheek.

"You left me today because you needed time to think over things." I pulled her hand away from my face and kissed her palm. "And I can't tell what you're thinking." I turned her hand over and kissed each of her knuckles. "I don't know what you've decided."

"I opened my present."

I swallowed hard. "And?"

"You've never opened up to me like that before."

"I want to be able to give you what you need, Penny."

"Why is it so hard for you to talk to me?"

I took a deep breath. "Most people look at me and judge me in one second. I'm well off. My parents are well off. They think everything has been handed to me. And when I was younger, it was. So I can't correct their opinion. I haven't met anyone who sees more than that."

"Because you refuse to open up. So what else are they supposed to see?"

"You see more."

"That's because I don't care about your money. I care about you."

That was all I’d ever wanted. For someone to care about me and not what I could offer them. "I know. I'm trying, Penny. I'm not used to this."

"This?"

"The way I feel about you." I’d written that I loved her in the letter. But I was having trouble reading her tonight. I was worried that saying the words out loud would just scare her away. She was 20 now, but we were still at very different stages in our lives.

"I've never been in love before,” she said.

"I know." I ran my fingers through her red hair. God, I’d missed this. I’d missed us.

"Have you?" she asked.

Dr. Clark and I had beaten this subject to death. And I’d never been more sure of the answer. I stared down at her. "I've never felt like this."

"Does love always hurt this much?"

I don’t know. Maybe."I'm not trying to hurt you. I don't want to ever hurt you again."

"You're not good for me."

Fuck.Who was telling her that? Tyler? Brendan? It didn’t matter, because it was true. I sighed and put my arms around her again. "No, I'm not."

"But I love you anyway."

It wasn’t the first time she’d said it to me. I pictured her straddled on top of me on my bed, confessing her lies. Confessing her love. She’d said it in a state of desperation. And now she was saying it again, but I wasn’t sure if she’d even remember it in the morning. But it still made my heart feel warm. Like her goodness was seeping into me.

A tear slid down her cheek. "I'm sorry. Geez, I don't know why I'm so emotional today."

"It's a side effect of having a concussion."

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