Page 158 of Nothing to Fear

Could she live the rest of her life knowing she’d walked away from her only chance at happiness?

“I didn’t say thank you… When I called… when I was scared…” It didn’t feel real. Her impulse to call him at the motel was unthinking. Terrified, she’d picked up that phone and… “You came. You came to be with me.”

“Always will, Cherry. That’s the truth of who I am, that guy. The guy who would give up the world for you. No thanks necessary, it’s a given, I’ll always be by your side, I’ll always protect you.”

“You’re confusing me.”

Except when she tried to push past, he pressured her body with his, keeping her still. “I lied to you. Every time your voice came onto that phone, I wanted to tell you the truth, but I lost myself in it, in you. I’m addicted, baby, and I won’t live another day without you.”

“I can’t be with a liar.”

“What we felt, in person, and on that phone, was real, it was true. There was no lie in that. There’s no lie in our love. That’s all we need: love. And my pledge I will never lie to you again, about anything. Won’t be so much as a surprise party in your future unless they keep it from both of us, I swear.”

Oh, did he have to be goofy like that?

“I’m scared to love you.” Her heart beat hard in her quaking throat. “Ending this protects me because I can’t ever be hurt like that again. I knew I was in love with you and on that screen, on your phone, I saw those letters and… I was ready to give you everything I could, and the humiliation—”

The memory closed her eyes though he caught her chin to raise it back up. When the brush of his lips met hers, she wanted to give in. Instead, she planted a hand on his chest to push him back.

“Love me, Cherry, and I will always be your Gentleman.”

A warm tear escaped the corner of her eye. “It’s better to lose you now than let us destroy me later.”

“No,” he murmured. “Better to start forever now, than to regret losing another second of us. I love you, Sav.” He peered closer, beseeching her. “Trust that. Trust what you feel. You will never lose us. There’s nothing to fear. Nothing has the power to destroy either of us so long as we’re together.”

“Together?”

“Partners.” A word she’d got from Jacob. One he probably got from his parents. “Trust, Cherry, please.”

It was never her intention to have him beg. It was never her intention to lose him. Both men, Darroch, Jacob, what they’d felt for her was real, and what she felt in return was the same. Had fear driven him? One thing was clear, it was driving her decision to push at him.

Trust? Could she do it? Be with a man like Darroch Breckenridge? Didn’t take much consideration. Didn’t everyone make mistakes? She had to trust his heart, as he trusted hers.

“Thirty-five years isn’t a bad innings,” she whispered.

Another smile. “No, it’s not.”

“Not sure about the sixteen kids though.”

He brushed the hair from her brow. “It starts with one, we’ll go from there.” Oh, this was a big deal. “Trust me.”

“Trust you.”

“I’ve got you, baby.”

Forgiveness was a choice. Could she deny being in love with him? No. And maybe it wasn’t just about trusting him. She had to trust herself, her instinct. Every part of her burned to belong to him. They belonged to each other and forever started now.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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