Page 23 of The Rancher's Jilted Bride

"Say something, dammit."

"I d-don't know what to say."

Her voice was now softer and tremulous, her eyes no longer dark with pain, and that told him everything he needed to know.

She might not have the words, but he did.

"Will you let me say it," Hale rasped out, "but in the only way I know?"

He watched her lips slowly part, and when he saw that she was about to say 'yes'—-

That was all he needed to see, and Hale pulled her close to do the one thing he hadalwayswanted to do.

Since the first time he saw her, he had wantedthis.

Only...he hadn't been able to admit it.

Until now.

Because he was done pretending.

Hale cupped her face, and finally...

Ah, finally...

He finally had his first taste of her lips.

And it was like...

Heaven.

Heaven

MY WORLD SPINS OFFtangent the moment his lips touch mine, and my mind ceases to function.

I can't even say this is something I ever dreamed of.

Because I wouldn't even know that this was evenpossible.

Ballet, not boys, was what had always occupied my thoughts.

And by the time I was old enough to start thinking of dating—-it was too late.

When you see your stepfather drinking himself to death and demand letters are piling up in the mailbox, getting a boyfriend becomes the least of your priorities.

When it's your first time to see your fridge and all the kitchen cupboards empty, and you're too proud to ask your friends for grocery money, life turns into a battle of survival, and you find yourself wondering...

Why should I even keep going?

I remember being all smiles when I was surrounded by other people, but the moment I locked myself inside a toilet stall, I'd start having panic attacks and hyperventilating like mad. I was so desperate back then not to lose face. I didn't want anyone to see me break down so, so bad that I even tried breathing into a paper bag like I've seen people do in movies.

But it didn't work.

The pain and the worries. The fears and insecurities. They were alwaysthere.

And the only time everything went away was when I started trusting Him.

The only time I stopped pretending was when I realized He has always been there for me and would always be so.

---