Page 59 of Guarded from Sabotage

I love her.

And at this perfect moment, with the woman I love in my arms, I know I can’t wait any longer to tell her.

So I take Sarah’s hand and lead her over to the couch, wrapping my arm around her shoulders once she’s seated beside me. She shivers, so I busy myself taking the throw draped across the back of the couch and tucking it across her lap while I try to figure out the right words to say.

Do I keep it simple? Just say the three words without pretense or explanation?

But that’s not romantic or memorable. I want Sarah to know how deeply I care about her. How important she is to me. How I can’t see a life without her in it. How she’s made me happier than I’ve ever been.

Always intuitive, her brows wing up as she gives me a questioning look. “Are you okay, Dante? You look… nervous.”

Nervous? Me? The man who’s faced off against dozens of insurgents without panicking, ejected from a helo after it was hit by an RPG, and gave medical aid to soldiers on the brink of death, knowing it was my hands and skill that could save them?

Yes. Of all those things, handing Sarah my heart is by far the most frightening.

It’s the most vulnerable I’ve ever let myself be.

But it’s Sarah. I trust her. I love her.

“Nothing’s wrong.”Did my voice crack? It hasn’t done that since I was a teenager.“I just… want to tell you something.”

“Okay?” She turns towards me, concern darkening her gaze. “You can tell me anything, you know. If something is botheringyou, or if you’re worried… I want to be there for you, just like you’ve been for me.”

I open my mouth, but the words get stuck.

It’s not that hard. Just three words. Words I mean with all my heart.

“I don’t want you to leave B and A.”

Shit. That’s not what I meant to say.

Sarah blinks. “What do you mean?”

Covering her hands with mine, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “That’s not what I meant to say.”

Hurt flickers across her face. “So youdowant me to leave?”

What is wrong with me? I should have practiced this or something. “No. I don’t want you to. I’m just… messing this up.”

“Messing what up?”

I take another breath, count to four, and exhale for another four count. And again. Then I say, “I don’t want you to leave B and A. Now that things are getting back to normal, and your accounts are fixed, you could go back to your apartment if you want.” As Sarah opens her mouth to respond, I hurry to continue. “But I don’t want you to. I want you to stay at B and A. With me. At my apartment. Maybe it’s too soon, or you’re not ready, but I just wanted to tell you.”

Her voice lilts up hopefully. “You want me to move in with you?”

“Yes. But I wasn’t going to say that first.”

“What were you going to say first, then?”

My heart rolls over. Squeezes. Hot prickles sweep over my body. “I love you. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Not even close. I love you so much, it feels like my heart can’t hold all of it. I just… I love you, Sarah. And I really hope you feel the same.”

Sarah stares at me with an unreadable expression. “You love me?”

Oh please, let this not be a mistake. “So much. I never knew that Icouldfeel like this. I’ve seen my friends fall in love, but I didn’t know how incredible it could be. How incredible I feel when I’m with you.”

Her lips press into a trembling line. Tears well up in her eyes.

My heart sinks.

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