Page 115 of Burn With Me

“Of course, I still love you, but I can’ttrustyou!” I sob.

“Yeah, well. The feeling is mutual.” His tone turns flat, eyes cast to the floor.

I almost forgot that Scott told Jackson I knew about his uncle’s illness. “It wasn’t my place to tell you! And what you did doesn’t even compare!”

“Doesn’t it, though? He’s going to die, Ginny! He’s going to die, and we’ve spent more time fighting or talking aboutbusiness this last year than we have acting like we’re family! You could have warned me! Would I still be upset? Yes, but I would have hadtimewith him!” Jackson shouts, voice cracking.

Tears spring to his eyes, the sight of them washing away some of my anger. “He just wanted to prepare you–”

“You don’t get it, do you? He’s all I have left!”

“You have me!” I shout back, closing the remaining distance between us to reach for his hand, but he pulls away and stares down at me coldly.

“Do I? Because last night you didn’t want to make that choice.”

His words cut deep. A reminder that he tried to end the lie he carried on for so long, and he had to hear me say I wasn’t ready to let go of another man.

Shaking my head, I reach for him again. “Jackson, that isn’t fair.”

He turns away, hands going to the back of his head as he sits on the couch and stares out the window again. “I think we should take some time apart.”

Panic races through my stomach and pushes my heart into my throat. “No…no, I don’t want time apart.”

“Just last night, you couldn’t let go of another man. Do you reallyloveme, Ginny? Or do you just not want to be alone?” His words are sharp as a blade, cutting through to what’s left of my shredded heart.

Hysterically, I ask, “So now what? I lose you both?”

Jackson looks at me as I collapse next to him. “There is no plural, Ginny. It’s justme. It’s always just been me. I think you need to take some time to decide if that’s enough for you…ifI’menough for you.”

“You are!” I reach for him, but he catches my hands mid-air and holds them between us.

“Then why couldn’t you lethimgo?” he asks softly.

“Jackson, that isn’t fair. You manipulated me!” Pulling out of his grip, I launch back off the couch, turning to point athim as if somehow that will change what’s happening. As if it will remind him that he hurt me, too.

“You’re right, I did,” he admits. “And I’m an asshole for that. It was fucked up, but I never thought it’d go this far. I never thought we would be here.”

“But weare! How am I supposed to feel? What do youwantfrom me?”

He stands and pulls me to him. His arms hold me tight, his lips against the top of my head as he explains, “I just want to know that I can be enough for you. That knowing it was me in that room won’t have you run off to look for someone to replace your stranger. I’m all in, Ginny. I just need to know that you are, too.”

“I am all in, Jackson.” He starts to pull away, but I hold him tighter, not letting him go as he sighs.

“You say that now, Red. But when all the adrenaline dies down and you have a moment alone to think about what I did to you, you might not feel the same. So, go home. Let’s take a few days to cool off. Okay?”

Pulling back, I wrap my arms around myself as he lets me go. My tears have turned to sniffles and deep huffs as I try to regain normal breathing. There are wet trails on his face but no longer tears in his eyes.

“I love you,” he says, leaning down to lay a chaste kiss on my forehead.

“I love you too.”

Wiping my face, I turn away from him. Every reluctant step closer to the elevator puts another crack in my heart. As much as I want to keep arguing with him, I know he’s right. He’s making a mature decision to ask for some space.

That doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Jackson

Walking into my uncle’s penthouse is like walking into a museum. It’s quiet, not a speck of dust anywhere, thanks to Claudia, but it doesn’t look like a home anymore. He never replaced anything my aunt took to Jacksonville, punishing himself with the reminder that he had lost the best thing that ever happened to him.

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