Page 14 of Dare to Love

“In retrospect, there were signs. I was just too busy with work to notice. Classic story, right?” He snapped out in pain.

“I don't want to get hurt again,” I admitted quietly, not looking him in the eye. The confession felt raw, vulnerable in a way I hadn’t planned on being around him.

“I get that. I don’t want to be either. But sometimes, the risk is worth it.” Reid stated laying his heart on the line. “Maybefor once fate had a helping hand and found two people who genuinely deserved some happiness and love. Aren’t we both worth experiencing true love?”

CHAPTER 8

Reid

The morningof the Spring Festival dawned clear and bright with the sunlight streaming through my bedroom windows as I stared at the ceiling unable to shake the nervous energy that had kept me awake half the night. The house was quiet—too quiet with that deep, middle-of-the-night silence where every creak of the floorboards and shift of the wind feels louder than it should.

But none of it was louder than the rush in my ears.

I lay on my back, staring into the dark, covers pushed halfway down my hips.

My skin felt too warm. My thoughts, too sharp and everything about the evening was electric in a way I hadn’t been ready for and all I could think about was her. My Lilian and how in the morning everything would be different.

I turned over and pressed my face into the pillow and tried to breathe through the visions invoking my mind but it was pointless—nothing could stop me from reaching out and holding my heavy thick girth in my hand.

My hand slid down slowly as I hesitated for just a second wondering if I could talk myself out of it but I couldn’t. Not when I was already imagining her and those sexy curves, pert tits and curves naked within my hands?—

Fuck!I groaned out gasping into the dark as my hips shifted under the covers chasing that rush, I’d tried to ignore all night. It didn’t take me long at all as I stroked myself with rigor, faster and harder, increasing the pace until I was so close to the edge. The need to feel that ecstasy and release through my body after being on edge for hours taking over and being something I no longer could control.

I knew in my gut that I’d either done the most stupid thing in the world by starting an addiction to the woman I didn’t even know would still want me for certain this time tomorrow or got rid of the fear that had trapped me from dating?

I wasn’t sure which one scared me more honestly—except my heart sung loud and clear for the gorgeous woman who’d been in my life the last few weeks.

Today was the day. The finale and end of our two-week dare—the fake proposal that had somehow begun to feel anything but fake to me. I’d spent hours planning it down to the smallest detail. Lilian’s shop would be decorated with fairy lights and rose petals and I’d even enlisted Paisley’s help to create a display of Lilian’s signature chocolates arranged in the shape of a heart. There would be music—that soft jazz that Lilian tended to hum along to whenever it played in her shop. Everything would be perfect. It had to be the best for her.

I took my time in the shower reminiscing over the previous night in bed and how my traitorous hard length had a mind ofits own as I washed the suds across my body before I finally got out and dried myself and got dressed. I selected the charcoal gray suit I knew Lilian had once complimented and slipped it on battling my inner emotions that wouldn’t silence in my head. What if I’d read all this completely wrong?

Relationships weren’t my thing—not since Alexandra. I’d built a life around avoiding them, around keeping everyone at a safe distance where they couldn’t hurt me but somehow, without my permission, Lilian Raeflower had slipped past all my defences. The raspberry picking expedition two days ago had only confirmed what I’d been trying to deny since our sunset at the overlook—I was falling for her. Hard. The way she’d laughed when the rain caught us, droplets clinging to her eyelashes. How she’d looked in my kitchen later that night, flour on her cheek as we baked cobbler together, her presence making my typically sterile apartment feel like a home for the first time. I frowned at my reflection staring back at me in the mirror. When did this all happen? When did this spirited, frustrating, beautiful woman become so important to me?

My phone suddenly disturbed me as it buzzed on the table in front of me knocking me from the negative train of thought I’d wandered down. I picked it up and glanced at it, noticing the text from Paisley.

Everything’s set up at the shop. Lilian’s still at the farmer’s market picking up strawberries, so the coast is clear. Are you sure about this?

I quickly fired back a message:Absolutely. Be there in twenty.

I reached for my phone and swallowed harshly as I slipped the small velvet box into my pocket alongside it—a beautiful piece from the jewelry store downtown. The owner, Mrs. Brightly, had been beside herself with excitement when I explained what I needed.

“Oh, Reid!” she’d gushed, practically dancing around her display cases. “I knew there was something special between you two! Everyone’s been talking about it—the way you look at her…” I hadn’t corrected her assumption. I didn’t want to if I was honest. What would I have said?Actually, Mrs. Brightly, it’s all an elaborate ruse that’s somehow become the most real thing in my life?The drive to Lilian’s shop felt both too long and too short but gave me the time to finish rehearsing what I would say. I had to convey to Lilian—that somewhere along the way, this had become more than a dare for me. That I wasn’t just doing this to finalize the end of this national holiday. That this was about more than steamrolling a relationship—and a dare.

Lil’s Sweet Treats looked magical when I arrived. Paisley had seriously outdone herself with the decorations to the place and ensured that the town was aware of a special event happening at the chocolate shop. I recognized most of the faces that had turned out at the shop and in honesty it should have sent the nerves within me sky high but when I spotted my best friend Grant stood near the back, giving me an encouraging thumbs-up I instantly relaxed. Paisley was there, practically vibrating with excitement as she chatted with Evander and Miri and even Mayor Wilkins had shown up, his booming voice carrying across the shop as he greeted people.

“Reid!” Paisley hurried over, her expression a mix of excitement and concern. “She’ll be here any minute. Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” I replied, trying to sound more confident than I felt. My palms were sweating—actually sweating—like I was sixteen again, about to ask the girl of my dreams to prom and worried I’d be rejected.

“This isn’t just for show anymore, is it?” Paisley asked as she studied my face, her eyes narrowing slightly.

I opened my mouth thinking honestly if it was worth deflecting, then closed it again. What was the point in denying it? “No,” I admitted quietly. “It's not.”

“I thought so.” Paisley uttered as her smile softened. “The way you’ve been looking at her lately... it’s different.”

Before I could respond back, the bell above the door chimed and the shop fell silent. I turned to see Lilian standing in the doorway with a basket of fresh strawberries in her arms, her expression shifting rapidly from confusion to shock as she took in the decorated shop and the gathered crowd. My breath caught in my throat at how stunning she looked in a simple sundress the color of ripe peaches. Our eyes met across the shop and for a moment, everything else faded away—the crowd, the decorations, even the absurdity of our situation.

“What’s going on?” Lilian’s voice trembled, barely audible as she set down her basket.

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