Page 73 of Hard To Love

He pursed his lips together and pinched the bridge of his nose. “This may surprise you, but I kind of actually feel sorry for the guy.”

His response shocked me so much that I snapped my head to his to make sure I heard him right. “I know what it’s like to lose you; I wouldn’t wish that feeling on my own worst enemy.”

“Chase, I…” Words failed me as his warm blue eyes tugged at my heart reminding me why I was so in love with him.

“Emily,” he said softly, “I know you love me and that your feelings for him don’t run any deeper than friendship at this point. Does it bother me that you care so much about him?” He stopped and tilted his head, “maybe a little, but you’ve never tried to hide that from me. I know that no matter how much you love me, you’ll always care about him.”

He leaned back and gently cupped my face in his hands. “I’m glad you were honest with me and told me about what happened. I know that wasn’t easy for you. I just don’t want you upset about all this. Brad’s going to have to find a way to deal with the fact that you’re with me now. Because,” he added as his tone grew serious, “You’re mine and I don’t plan on giving you up anytime soon.”

His words touched my heart, making it skip a beat. “That’s good, because I kind of like being yours.” I told him with as much conviction in my voice as I could. I snuggled up against him letting the scent of his cologne wrap around me like a warm blanket. He was the only home I would ever need.

As we laid in bed later that night wrapped in each other’s arms, I could feel myself ready to fall asleep, when Chase’s voice broke through the silence.

“You know what you need?”

My head lifted from his chest. “What’s that?” I yawned into my hand, as I struggled to keep my eyes open.

“You need a vacation.” My eyebrows shot up in confusion as he continued. “I have a big trial coming up in a few weeks. I’ve been busting my ass and feel burnt out. You’ve been working like crazy and I’m thinking we need to take a couple of days to get away. I think it’ll do me good to recharge so I can come back relaxed and ready for work. Besides, we could really use the alone time. I know we still have some things we need to work through, and getting away from everything would certainly help. Once this trial starts, I’m going to be up to my neck in work. Let me take you away from all this craziness; let me spoil you and show you how much you mean to me.”

Even though I was half asleep, I didn’t need to think too hard about my decision, or for him to try and convince me that we needed this time away together. We had been so caught between the move, work and everyday life, that we hadn’t had time to focus on just being us.

I pulled myself up and gazed into his eyes, “How soon can we leave?”

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