Page 108 of From the Moment We Met

“Please don’t believe what the tabloids print,” Jacob begged.

“Why not? According to you, they generally have the real scoop.”

Jacob sank into a chair, his head in his hands. “I don’t know how to fix this. Just tell me how to fix this mess. I’ll do anything. I’ll issue a retraction, I’ll rescind interest in Milieu of Madness, I’ll do anything.”

Lilly surprised herself with the strength of her words. “It’s too late. The damage is done, all we can do is move forward with our lives.”

“I’ve destroyed the most important thing that’s ever come into my life. The greatest woman I’ve ever known despises me, and I deserve every ounce of her hatred.”

His stricken appearance broke Lilly, and she sighed, sitting down opposite him. She was too tired to keep fighting. “I don’t hate you. I want to hate you, but I believe hatred is a terrible emotion. It’s a waste of time and energy.”

“You should hate me.”

Lilly let out a harsh laugh. “Yes, I should. But I don’t.” She neglected to mention how it’s impossible to hate someone you adore—she’d keep that fact tucked safely away. She made the mistake of opening the door to her heart once with Jacob Edmonton, she wouldn’t let it happen again. “I won’t lie. I’m not a terribly big fan of either you or your girlfriend at the moment. You two deserve each other, I suppose.”

Jacob wiped his eyes. “I know I never deserved you, angel.”

“Please don’t call me that—”

His eyes were so bright it looked like the tears would win at any moment. “I can’t help it. From the moment we met, you’ve been my angel. It’s not going to change, no matter how you feel about me or the time we spent together.”

Lilly released a deep sigh. Damn this man and his ability to penetrate to her very core with his words. Apparently, love replaces brain cells with fuzzy hearts.

She blinked back tears. “If I’m your angel, why couldn’t you have been mine?”

He shook his head, not meeting her gaze. He seemed too overcome to speak.

She hesitated before placing her hand on his. “I don’t think your goal was to make me feel so insignificant and foolish—”

“Never,” Jacob murmured. “I would never do that intentionally, especially not to you. Things got so buggered.”

“I know how much you have on your plate right now. You’ve worked your entire career for this movie role. I threw a cog in the wheel, I messed up the order of things—”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. You're perfect.”

“I know I didn’t do anything wrong, but I still threw off the order of things. You and Victoria had a plan sorted out before you met me, and while I understand why you need this role and why you need to stay with Victoria to get this role, I need more than that in my life. I deserve more than that.”

“You deserve the world. God, I want to give the world, I want to give you Paris. I want us to build our own world.”

Lilly was shocked by the strength in her reply—her heart hammered in her chest, but externally she was calm and collected. “But you can’t. You can’t do any of those things, and if you care about me at all, you’ll realize that too.”

Jacob’s eyes met hers, grabbing her hand and kissing her fingertips. “I need you in my life. I don’t think I can live without you, Lilly.”

Lilly’s fingers tingled where he kissed them, but she squelched the feeling, forcing herself to remain on topic. “You’d be amazed what you can learn to live without.”

“Fuck…”

Her words were gutting him, but it wasn’t bringing Lilly any joy to cause him pain. Jacob seemed to be inflicting enough torture on himself already. “I’m not going anywhere…perhaps we can try to be friends. I won’t promise anything, and I’ll need time before I can even consider that as an option.”

His face crumpled at her statement, but she stuck to her guns. She couldn’t risk her heart being trampled again.

“Now, I’m going to bid you adieu and wish you a safe journey. I hope you get that part, and I hope your life is grander than you ever imagined.”

“Please don’t tell me this is the end,” Jacob begged.

Lilly shook her head, tears sliding down her cheeks. “If you ever really need me, I’m here.” She stood to leave, but Jacob clung to her hands.

“I’ll make this up to you, Lilly. I’ll spend the rest of my life protecting you. Protecting your heart.”

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