Page 165 of Never Let You Go

“I’ll work from here. Like you said before, I’m not bound to working from New York. There’s more to life than work. If I learned anything from this apprenticeship, it’s that Rita had it all wrong. Nothing can replace a family. And all men don’t bring misery.” Tears rim my eyes. “I trust him, Sarah. I love him beyond imagination, but above all, I trust him.”

“That’s all you need, sister.” She squeezes my hand, again. “I’m proud of you for going after what you want and need. You deserve it. What did he say?”

“I—I didn’t tell him, yet.”

Her mouth opens in an O, and her eyes go wide.

“I wanted to give myself time to think. And I wanted to have your blessing,” I explain.

“Oh girl, you have my blessing. You’re—You’re like a new woman. A better version of yourself. I’m so happy for you!” She fans herself. “You need to tell him, right now. Did you say his competition starts in a couple of days?”

“Yeah, I’ll wait until he gets back to tell him.”

“No, you’re not. You can’t let him hang like that. He needs to know he has your support before he goes.”

“I couldn’t even say it back,” I whisper.

“What?”

“He told me he loves me for the first time last night, and I couldn’t bring myself to say it back. I didn’t feel a right to, you know? He blindsided me.”

“Uh-huh,” Sarah says, taking a bite off her skinny pancake. “Didn’t see it coming, right?”

Is she being snarky right now? “No, I didn’t see it coming. We were just supposed to have a… thing. And okay, I kinda fell for him—”

“Kinda?” Sarah snorts.

“—but why didn’t he say anything before?”

“He must have given you some hints.”

“Yeah, he’d say things like ‘Stay here,’ but not Move in with me. Or, ‘I could keep you around indefinitely, bet you’d get a lot of business.’ Who says stuff like that?”

“Hm. Wild guess. A guy who’s afraid of rejection?”

I take a deep breath. Christopher was rejected by Skye’s mother, someone who was going to have his child. And he never felt accepted by his own family.

I should have put my heart on the line sooner for him. “I lied to him, Sarah. What does that say about me? What is he going to think when I tell him?”

Sarah shrugs like this is no big deal. Like my whole life isn’t hanging in the balance right now. “If he really loves you, he won’t care.”

Why didn’t I see that earlier? “You’re right. God, I’ve been so selfish. What if I’m not the right person for him? I always—”

She silences me with a finger on my lips. “I don’t ever want you to say that again. I’ve heard you blame yourself too much, and I won’t have it anymore. You won’t bring anything but happiness to this man. Now, let’s get off our tushes and get back to Emerald Creek, pronto.”

Me

We’re coming back today

Christopher

everything okay?

Me

yes

Christopher

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