Page 50 of Always Right

Always right.

The outcome would be the same.

I’d end up in bed with him, in his arms...feeling loved.

“Yeah.”

He looked at me like he couldn’t quite believe what I said. “Yes?”

“Yes.”

Derek smiled, cupping my face in his hands before kissing me once again. “Okay.” I nodded, his genuine smile filling me with happiness. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll meet you out there.”

A quiet chuckle left his lips, looking at me with such adoration it almost left me as breathless as his mouth had. He loved me. I could see it. I could feel it. I swallowed thickly as the pressure on my chest mounted at the thought. It wasn’t like I didn’t know what I felt...it was the need to say it out loud.

Saying it out loud would effectively seal the deal...giving all of me to him. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that type of vulnerability.

“Get out of your head.” He ran his hands up and down my arms, comforting. “Take this for what it is.”

I raised an eyebrow, reaching up and touching his face. “And what is it?”

“Two people giving in to what they feel. That’s it.” He leaned in, kissing me one more time before pulling away. “Don’t leave without me.”

***

I always loved a restaurant with a view.

The second floor was quiet, but Derek had encouraged me to go, promising he would meet me there when he was done talking to a few sponsors. I watched him from afar, his smile genuine as he held a conversation with a man and Lisa, both laughing at whatever he had said. He glanced up, finding me looking at him. I waved at him, and he chuckled, his eyes lingering on me for a few seconds before he turned his attention back to Lisa, who appeared to excuse herself with her phone in her hand.

He hated the business part of it, but he was damn good at it.

Derek knew what he wanted and wasn’t afraid to say it.

“You disappeared for a while there.” I rolled my eyes, watching Evie as she approached me. She’d let her hair down, clearly tired of it being tied up in a tight bun. “And your hair is a mess...and that is coming from me, the self-proclaimed queen of messy hair.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

Evie raised an eyebrow, her eyes shining with amusement. “Funny. Derek said the same thing when I pointed out he’d been gone for a while, too. Especially when he left that closet without wearing his suit jacket and now you have it on.”

I felt myself flush, but there was no point in denying it. I didn’t bother with a reply either, though, my focus elsewhere.

“What’re you thinking?”

I glanced at my sister, hesitating for a few seconds before I said the words out loud. “I love him.”

Evie shot me a sympathetic look, reaching out and covering my hand with her own. “Yeah. That’s a pretty big word.”

“I know. Which is why it's terrifying.”

“I get it, you know...” She looked at Nathan, waving her fingers at him as he lifted a glass of wine from a distance, flashing her a dashing smile. “Sometimes I look at Nathan and still forget how to breathe.”

“That’s how I feel with Derek.”

Evie grinned, squeezing my hand. “You’ve got it bad, then.” We stood quietly, my mind swarming with the endless possibilities in my life if I opened my heart to Derek. “We have a long weekend away. Take that time to think, to really talk to him, Hannah.”

She was right. All I could do was confront my fears. I had nothing to lose, not anymore. We talked for a few more minutes before Nathan made his way upstairs, pulling Evie into his arms. He was a little drunk as he kissed her, but she didn’t seem to care, giggling at the affection. I left them alone, wandering to the restroom where I touched up my makeup, until I heard a voice coming from a nearby room, with the door slightly ajar.

Every cell in my body told me to step away. It told me to turn around and ignore the curiosity that invaded me but stubborn as ever, I didn’t. I followed the voice, one I quickly recognized as Lisa’s and my heart dropped when I heard what she was saying.

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