Page 139 of Samson

Samson took a couple of labored steps closer. “Delilah, I didn’t deserve to make it out of that explosion alive. I gave my life to stop Demir. But for some reason, God spared me. He gave me a second chance, and I can’t deny anyone else that same opportunity if they’re willing to take it.”

She cleared her throat. “I’m not sure what it is you’re trying to say.”

He stepped closer. “We’ve both done things in our lives that we regret. I don’t want this to be another one.”

“What do you mean by ‘this’?”

“You.”

“What about me don’t you want to regret?” She struggled to get her voice to come out above a whisper.

“Letting you go.”

“I—”

“If you don’t feel the same, I completely understand. This is a lot.”

“Do you have to sit down? I have to sit down.” She went to the couch.

“Are you okay?”

Nothing made sense. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Samson couldn’t really mean the words he was saying. “I’m confused. Are you saying all of this so you can pull the rug out from underneath me?”

“No. I’m being totally honest and vulnerable with you right now. And I’m okay with that. Probably for the first time in my life. But I can go if you need me to.”

“How can you be okay with what I did? How can you want to even be with me again?”

“You didn’t know what you were in the middle of. I brought you close to me at a time when Demir wanted to destroy me. It was because of me that you were put in that position. Any other time, none of that would have happened.”

“You can’t seriously be blaming yourself.”

“I’m blaming bad circumstances that God used for good. There was no way you could have known Marc was going to try to kill me when you told him about my knife thing.”

“But I knew he could hurt Riley.”

“Did you? Were you even thinking at all?”

“I don’t know. But I can’t even tell you how much I regret it.”

“And I’ve done a lot of things in my life that I’m not proud of. Things that make me cringe when I think about them. I’m disgusted with myself, but God’s forgiven me, and I’ve made a decision to change my life. You said you’ve found God, so you must have decided the same thing.”

“I have.” Her voice quivered.

“I’m not asking you to be my girlfriend, but I would like the chance to get to know you. Probably for the first time. We’ve both changed. I want to see what that looks like for us.”

“I suppose that will look very different.”

“And thank goodness for it. The first time I saw you, you gave me the dirtiest look.” He chuckled.

“I did.”

“The man I was then took that as a challenge. I thought if I could get you into bed, then I could make you take back that look. But really, I was trying to prove to myself that I had any worth, because I didn’t feel like I did. And somehow, you saw that. I could hide my hurt from everyone but you.”

He slid a pile of magazines aside on the coffee table and sat in front of her, taking her hands in his. “If you were anyone else, I wouldn’t be here. But you’re the first woman I’ve ever known who has seen me for what I am. Both the good andthe bad. I can’t let that go without trying to salvage it. Because in the end, after everything I’ve been through, it appears that, after discovering all my weaknesses, you’re one of my greatest strengths.”

She bit down on her trembling lip. “I don’t know what to say.”

“All I need to know is if I can take you out sometime.”

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