Page 50 of Guarded from Danger

The same love I can see as Erin looks at Conor, the emotion in their eyes so much stronger than words.

I never knew before.

I never knew how it could feel when you find the perfect person. How everything is brighter. Better. More vivid. She heals my fractures and fills the parts I thought would always be empty. She brings me a joy I never knew existed.

Lucy makes me want to be a better man for her.

“I never knew it could feel this special,” Lucy says quietly. “I never knew I could feel like this. But with Xavier…” She turns to me, a smile lifting her lips. “You’re everything to me.”

Oh.

How can I not tell her?

But it’s not the right place. The right time.

I can’t tell Lucy I love her at a bar surrounded by ten of our friends. It’s supposed to be romantic, with flowers and jewelry and candles, like the scenes she writes in her books.

But it’sright there. This feeling, so much bigger than I’ve ever felt before, on the verge of bursting out of my body.

I want to tell her.

Lucy’s still looking at me, emotion working in her eyes, and I could swear she’s thinking the same thing as me.

Is she?

Have we both been waiting for the perfect moment?

Does it really matter when the truth is the same?

Everything else fades until it’s just Lucy and me.

“Xavier—”

“Luce—”

Lucy laughs. “You go.”

“No, you.”

She looks at me for a second, as her smile slides into something more serious. “Xavier. I… I don’t want to wait anymore.”

“Luce—”

Cheeks pinking up, she says, “I know it’s not the perfect time. But I just… I’ve been waiting so long to tell you.”

My heart thuds hard. “Lu?—”

“At first, I thought I should wait until I was feeling… more stable. Better. So if you didn’t feel the same way, you wouldn’t feel bad letting me down. I knew you’d worry about hurting me, and with everything else going on…”

Part of me wants to interrupt her, to say the words first. But that would be selfish.

And does it really matterwhosays it first?

Lucy clutches my hands. Her eyes darken to a deep sapphire. “When I said I was falling for you. It was more than that.” She pauses. “I love you, Xavier. I have. And I know saying it here isn’t the most romantic?—”

“Lucy.” It’s gruff. Thick with emotion. Standing up, I pull her into my arms. “I love you.I love you.With all my heart. Love isn’t a big enough word to say how I feel about you.”

“Xavier.”

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