Page 84 of The House on Blueberry Lane

“Revenge? Of course not. I did it because I realized that I loved you.”

“And just when did you realize this, Jaye? After you decided you were missing me as a bed partner? After your close friends began falling in love and you felt left out, and decided to give love a try yourself?”

His jaw tightened at her words. “I realized it when I came to terms with what you meant to me and the depth and intensity of my love for you.”

She scoffed. “If everything you say is true, then you should have told me upfront, and not tried to manipulate me by coming up with some plan.”

“If you recall that night when I came here to talk to you about my moving to the cove, you joked about me deliberately buying the bank upon discovering this was where you were living. Then you said that you knew I hadn’t because it wasn’t in my makeup to care that much for any woman. I decided to prove how wrong you were and that it is in my makeup to care that much. For you.

“And you’re wrong in thinking I don’t know the difference between love and lust. I wanted to court you properly, Velvet. To share more of myself, especially my emotions, than I did before. And I have. You know about my mother now and we spend more time out of the bedroom than in it. That’s a deliberate move on my part. I didn’t want you to think all I wanted from you was sex. As much as I wanted you, I held back and only made love to you when you wanted it and asked for it. I was determined not to sleep with you until I proved there was more between us than sex. You don’t know how many times while we made love that I came close to telling you how I felt. How much I loved you.”

A part of Velvet wished she could believe him, but something was holding her back. Namely, that part of her heart she’d vowed to protect. The pain had been so hard before that she’d pretty much convinced herself that Jaye was a man incapable of loving any woman, including her.

“We didn’t make love, Jaye,” she said. “For it to be making love, both parties need to be in love. We had sex.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” Jaye countered. “We made love even those times I convinced myself it was just sex.”

Then, Jaye picked up on something she’d said, whether intentional or not. Since she didn’t believe he loved her, was she saying that she still loved him? He had to believe that she did.

For a long moment, Velvet just looked at him. Finally, she said softly, “I think it’s best for you to sleep the rest of tonight at your place, Jaye.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets. He remembered his brother’s advice not to push, and to give Velvet time to think. That she would eventually come around. But what if she didn’t? What if he’d told her so many times he wasn’t capable of loving a woman, that she still believed it? The thought of losing her was a pain he just couldn’t bear.

“If you want me to leave, then I’ll do that, Velvet. But you’re wrong about how I feel about you because I do love you.”

She didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned and walked into the house and closed the door behind her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

“WHAT DO YOU mean you don’t believe Jaye loves you?”

“Just what I said, Ruthie. We were together for three years. Three solid years and he didn’t fall in love with me then, but he wants me to believe he did it in three months? That’s crazy and you know it.” Velvet moved around her bedroom, getting ready for work. She felt tired because she hadn’t gotten much sleep last night.

“But didn’t he say he’d found out where you were and came after you? Think about it, Vel. The man bought a bank and then fixed it so he could be your neighbor. What do you call that?”

“Manipulation. I bet he did it to prove a point.”

“What point?”

“That he could.”

“You’re not being rational and it’s obvious that you’re upset, and—”

“I am rational and, of course I’m upset.”

“And you honestly think you have a right to be upset?”

Velvet rolled her eyes. “Yes, I do, and don’t you dare try to convince me otherwise.”

“I wouldn’t dare since you’re on a roll. But do me a favor.”

“What?”

“Think about everything you’ve told me. Then put me in your place and Todd in Jaye’s, and when you do, I believe you’ll see things differently. Have a great day at school. Love you. Bye, Vel.”

Velvet clicked off the call, not caring what her best friend had said. She didn’t need to switch places with Ruthie and Todd. There was no way Jaye could love her, and she felt insulted that he thought she would believe that he did.

Her gut tightened when she heard a knock on her front door and figured it could only be one person. Glad she was fully dressed, she inhaled deeply before heading to the door. She opened it to find Jaye. A fully dressed Jaye in jeans and a shirt and not his jogging attire.

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