Page 126 of Not the Plan

“There’s only one man I love, Karim.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Karim

He froze. There was no movement; there was no feeling; there were no thoughts. He looked back and forth between her eyes.

“You…you love me?” he asked.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“You do?”

“I do.”

There were still no thoughts. He wasn’t sure if he was alive or dead or dreaming. He didn’t even remember how to inhale.She is real, she is here, I am not dead, she just said she loves me. Isadora loves me.

“Have…have I upset you?” she asked.

He had to respond, needed to calm that fear in her voice, but he was struggling to know what to do with himself, how to find words.

“No,” he whispered. “No, no.” He stroked her hairline, her forehead.She is real. This is real.His eyes followed his fingers as he slid them down, caressing her cheek, his thumb grazing her lips. He stared at them as he regained some ability to speak.

“You haven’t upset me at all. I just didn’t think…” His voice trailed off.

Her hands drifted down his arms, part of him caught the tremor in her fingers.Make a sentence! Tell her!

“Maybe,” she said. “Maybe I’ve said too much.” She wasn’t meeting his gaze anymore.

“No, Isadora. No,” he said, swallowing. His voice was stronger, he felt more like himself. “You stole my heart the moment I saw you coming down the stairs at the stadium in that blue dress. I knew I was in trouble after Gordito’s, when I was terrified it was too late, that I’d lost my chance. And I was certain I loved you by the time we were planning the trip to Atlanta. Then…then with everything, and Julian…” He stopped. He took a deep breath to steady his voice. “I wanted to tell you a thousand times before, but I was so scared.”

She smiled at him and put her hand on his cheek.

“Why were you scared, baby?” she asked.

“What if you didn’t love me back?” he whispered.

Her eyebrows came together in that adorable crunch that melted his heart.

“But I do love you,” she whispered. “I do.”

He had to kiss her. And it felt like a different kiss. He’d never thought that she was holding herself back before, but in this kiss, he felt like she was giving herself to him. She was pouring everything in her into him. He groaned, kissing her back, wanting to give her everything she was giving to him.

“I love you, Isadora.” He sighed, pulling his lips away from hers for only a moment. He kissed her with the same intensity, his hand caressing her cheek. Her hands were in his hair.

He began to kiss his way down her neck, whispering “I love you” between each kiss.

“Karim, Karim…”

He moved back over her face again. “Yes?”

She smiled at him. A beautiful, enormous smile. “I love you.”

“Tell me again?” he asked, his cheeks hurting from his own smile.

She laughed. “I love you. I love you, Karim.”

A chill went through him and his shyness came roaring to the surface. He tucked his face into her neck, to hide.

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