Page 33 of Unleash You

“That’s not what I want. Tell me what you think. Would he be open to seeing me again?”

“Based on what I saw before I left, I don’t think so.”

My chest tightened at his words. I had asked for the truth. He gave it. Now I had to take it. I blinked fast to clear my vision. “Okay.”

“Anabelle, it isn’t fair for you to hang your entire worth on whether or not Charlie forgave you for what happened to your parents. He doesn’t get to decide if you’re guilty or not, which by the way, you’re not. Can we agree on that?”

“Yes, I know.” I yanked blades of grass.

“Hey.” Wesley scooted over to me and ran his thumb over the apple of my cheek. His warm hand sent shivers down to my belly. “I’m glad you finally know everything. I’m also glad you don’t hate me. That would’ve broken my heart in two.”

“I’m not even going to state the obvious.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

He rubbed his forehead, grinning. “This is different. We’ve shared so much. During the months I was deployed, you were my guiding light.”

“Your North Star. I think it’s what you called me.” That entire week, I was on cloud nine. The idea that someone thought of me as that important made me feel alive, made me want to live.

“Yes.” He pressed his forehead to mine. Just when I thought he was going to kiss me, he pulled me toward him and lay down on the lawn. “Come here.”

“Your letters kept me going too, you know. The older I got, the more I found myself having to deal with the guilt I felt from surviving the accident. It hit me hard my sophomore year in college. But you were there, holding my hand from a thousand miles away.”

“And now we’re here.”

“Now we’re here.”

I rested my head on his shoulder, squinting up at the blue sky. A sunny day in Atlanta with Wesley. Had I died and gone to heaven? I lost count of how many puffy white clouds rushed across our line of sight. Every time I thought of something to ask him, I realized I already knew the answer because he’d shared it with me in his letters. Bit by bit, the stranger lying next to me became the man from all those pages filled with pieces of his soul. I cuddled closer, and he wrapped his arms around me as if we’d done this a million times before.

“Hey, so I finally sold a painting.” The words flowed out of me. We picked up right where we’d left off.

He turned his head toward me. “I meant to ask you about that. Which one sold?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

He laughed. “Oh, it matters, especially if it’s making you blush. Let me guess. It was a nude.”

I hit his shoulder. It was a flirty slap that was more of a squeeze than anything else. “No. It was a landscape. Fox’s Bank was the inspiration.”

“I remember that one.Nostalgia, right? Is that the name of it?” His gaze dropped to my hand.

“It is.”

“Are you ready to own your own gallery?” he asked.

“Oh God no. What do I know?”

Would he let me kiss him? I bit my lower lip and bent down to kiss the spot where I’d hit him. “Why is Rebecca still here? I saw her earlier. What is she to you?” I couldn’t keep the bitter tone out of my voice. I had no claim on Wesley, but that didn’t stop me from feeling jealous.

He cradled my neck. “You already know why.”

“Right. I get it. She’s beautiful…” I sat up. When I woke up this morning, I promised myself I wouldn’t act like a petty thing.

“That’s not what I meant. I told you about her last year.”

I racked my brain, mentally shuffling through all the letters that were still in disarray on my bed upstairs. He surveyed my face as I tried to remember. When my face lit up, he released a breath.

“She’s the girl you wanted to help?”

“I didn’t want to pile it on last night, but it’s better if you know. Charlie got shot during her rescue. We were on track to meet up with Tyler. Then Charlie decided to go back to finish off the cartel boss.”

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