Page 67 of Dare to Fall

“So, I told him I was done. That there was no way in hell I would continue to belittle myself by staying with a guy who cheated on me and then asked me to stay with him to cover it up. And just like that, five years of my life went down the drain. The guy I thought I would spend the rest of my life with walked away from us to be with someone else. And I was stupid enough to think that maybe he was just stressed from medical school applications.” She huffed and rolled her eyes.

“You’re not stupid, Eva. Love can make us blind to the truth, making it hard to see the forest through the trees. You loved him, and instead of honoring that love, he betrayed you in the worst way possible. There was nothing that you did wrong in this situation. He never should have entered into another relationship without ending the one he was already in first. He’s a coward and a fool for letting you go.”

Her eyes flicked up to mine. “Do you really think that?” Her voice was low and sensual.

“Yes, I do.”

The air between us sizzled with electricity. Pain shrouded by a cloak of desire passed across her face. No words were spoken, but I knew what she was feeling. Because I felt it too. The longing to break the tension that had built up over time. To finally know what it would feel like to hold her body against mine with our lips pressed together.

Yet, I was still nervous to cross the threshold, to break the barrier we’d placed between ourselves. She just told me that her heart no longer belonged to Connor. Eva was now a free woman. Free to move on from the past that haunted her, to be happy with someone else.

But something held me back. I just couldn’t figure out what it was.

“And what of your photography? Are you still finding enjoyment in that?”

Coward. I was a complete coward.

But as the corners of her lips lifted into a half smile, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“It’s my favorite thing in the entire world. I can’t believe I spent so much time away from it just because Connor never really understood it. But I’m glad to have re-discovered it. I’m just not quite sure how I can make it fit into my future when I’ve already invested so much time and money into this pre-med degree.”

“I think it would be more of a waste to spend more time doing something you don’t really love. You’ve talked a lot about wasted time, but time isn’t wasted when you do something you enjoy. It might be a difficult path that will test your passion, but you’re capable of doing it, Eva. And I’ll help you in any way I can.”

Fresh tears welled in her eyes as she looked at me. I couldn’t stand it any longer—the distance between us. So, I slowly edged closer to her until she was within reach. With the back of my finger, I caught the teardrops that fell down her cheeks.

“Please don’t cry,” I whispered as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my lap. She curled up against me, tugging at the front of my shirt with her fist and leaning her head on my chest.

“I’m sorry.” Her lips moved against my chest and the fluttering sensation struck an arrow through my heart. “I just wish I would have found you sooner. Before everything got so messed up and my world turned upside down. I wish you didn’t have to see me like this, broken and torn apart with no clue how to move forward. But you make me want to be better.” She looked up at me through thick lashes. “You inspire me, Garth.”

It was the first time anyone had ever said something like that to me before, and it hit me in a way I wasn’t expecting. Like they were the words I had been searching for, words I hoped someone would say to me. That my life had meaning to them and I was more than the heir to a billion-dollar corporation.

But what Eva didn’t realize was that she inspired me too. In the face of such adversity, she was incredibly strong. There were countless opportunities to fire back at Connor and seek revenge for what he’d done to her. But she chose to take the high road and focus on herself instead. She was the bravest person I’d ever met, and she was inmyarms.

A rush of anxiety flooded through me as the thought of losing her crept into my mind. I needed to find a way to tell her exactly how I felt about her. How amazing she was and how, in such a short period of time, she had completely taken over my heart, my world. She was my proverbial cliff, and with one more step, I was ready to fall.

34

Eva

A soft melodyfloated through the air, slowly pulling me toward consciousness. As the fuzzy edges of my mind cleared, I realized it was Pink Floyd’s “A Pillow of Winds”—one of the band’s most underrated songs. All throughout my childhood, my parents would play the eclectic sounds of classic rock. I’d watch from the couch as my father twirled my mother in circles as they danced their way through the kitchen while cooking us breakfast. It was one of my favorite memories growing up.

But as I grew closer to Connor and his friends, I stopped listening to my favorite bands because it wasn’t whattheylistened to. Thinking back now, I made a promise to myself that I would never compromise who I was just to make someone else feel more comfortable or to fit in. I was turning a new page and, in doing so, shedding the skin of the facade I had carried for so long.

It felt good.

It feltdamngood.

I peeled my eyes open one at a time while stretching my arms way overhead. A soft blanket was covering my body that I didn’t remember having over me as I drifted off to sleep in Garth’s arms. The smell of him still surrounded me. I took a deep breath in, cherishing the subtle scent of sandalwood that clung to my clothes.

I pulled myself up and leaned against the arm of the leather sofa, gathering the ivory blanket around my legs.

A new sense of calm settled over me as I took in my surroundings. An identical sofa to the one I was sitting on sat parallel with a coffee table between. The kitchen cabinets were painted a deep green with black granite countertops that had veins of gold running through them. The walls of the loft were a white-washed brick veneer. And behind the sofa was a large king-sized bed with a huge headboard covered in chocolate brown leather. Cream-colored sheets with a matching down comforter were immaculately made.

And as my eyes grazed over to the far corner of the loft, my heart skipped a beat as I saw Garth standing before a huge canvas with a paintbrush in his hand. Dark-denim jeans clung to the low points of his hips, revealing strong muscles in his back that flexed with each movement. I couldn’t take my eyes away from his shirtless torso as I watched him brush long strokes of a gray hue onto the canvas.

The view of his perfectly sculpted body tightening with each movement as he slowly started to create what I was sure would eventually become a masterpiece sent tendrils of longing all throughout my body. This man was everything I never knew I’d wanted. Blinded by a love that was never true, I had no idea what the possibilities were. That there were people in the world, like Garth, who truly valued authenticity in others.

As I fell asleep in his arms, I’d never felt safer. With every conversation we’d had, Garth lifted me up and helped me pull back the curtain to reveal who I truly was. There was no judgment with him or expectations. He simply wanted to know me…asme. And I was quickly realizing that I wanted to know him as well—the hidden pieces that he didn’t show to anyone.

---