Page 102 of Forever and Other Lies

“Ouch.” Derek winced. He looked away for a moment, his shoulders sagging. Jayna felt instant shame at the sharpness of her words.

“You’re right. Up until now, my word has been meaningless. Yesterday, I didn’t deserve you. But today, well, today I do. I will do whatever it takes to deserve you.”

She opened and closed her mouth. No words came out. She was speechless. He’d shocked her. How she wanted to believe him, but she was fresh out of second chances.

“Derek, you saved my life and then broke my heart all within 24 hours.”

After all she’d been through, she realized that she was done wasting time. The counseling was helping with not only finding a way out of the crippling fear caused by Sonny, but also coming to terms with feeling unlovable.

She deserved to be loved and refused to settle for anything less.

“You’ve ruined me.” His face scrunched up like he’d sucked a lemon. “You wrecked me. Turned me into one of those guys.”

“What kind of guy would that be?” She’d bite.

“The kind of guy who does serious.”

She stared at him. Was this the best she was going to get out of him? “Just admit already that you have feelings for me,” she snapped. “Admit that you fell for me while we were fake dating.”

“Can’t we just skip all the mushy stuff? Do we really have to talk about our feelings?” He made air quotes as he spoke the last word.

Jayna pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Okay!” He lifted his hands up in defeat. “I didn’t NOT fall for you.”

“Wow! Sweep me off my feet,” she snorted. “Guess I’ll NOT toss you out on your ass. For now!”

Within a few months, the Neanderthal had actually started to resemble a real man. Give him a few more months, and he might even be able to gush love quotes. She laughed out loud at that thought.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” That would be a stretch to imagine the ape gushing about love. She’d settle for him being able to say ‘I love you’ without the sucked on a lemon face.

“So, you were really worried about me? I heard that you made Burke’s life hell while I was missing. You even dragged him to Jamie’s workshop for a psychic reading.”

“Yeah, well, whatever,” he stuttered and produced another sucked lemon face. “Just don’t attract the attention of any more serial killers, and we’ll be fine.”

“But it was so romantic the way you rushed into that cellar and saved me. My knight in shining armor.”

Just when she’d completely debunked the entire white knight persuasion, Derek Brennan had to go and destroy her theory that forever love, and soul mates were fake.

But he’d always been that way. No one could tell him that something was impossible. He’d have to prove them wrong.

“Well, I could hardly leave you there. I was just starting to get used to having you around,” he shot her that lopsided, dimple-popping grin. “Tommy pointed out that you’re the only woman who could put up with my crap. Apparently, I’d be crazy to let you go without fighting for you.”

Her eyes rolled up. “And that’s what you’re doing here? Fighting for me?” She pressed him again. There was a human inside there somewhere; she just had to dig it out. She would probably have to dig all the way to China to find it, though.

“Open your gift.” He pointed to the elegantly wrapped basket that sat on the kitchen island.

“Later.” She kept her hands on her hips.

“Why do you have to be so difficult? Just open it.”

“I’m difficult?” her voice raised.

“Damn it, woman, open the basket.” He pushed it closer to her.

“I don’t feel like it.” She pushed it back. It was the Tequila shot all over again. And she hated to back down.

---