Page 54 of Five Alarm Love
The day was done then.
She had semi-dreaded this outing, but now she didn’t want it to end.
She mounted her ATV.Tuli stood next to her, his thigh brushing against her knee.A zip of warmth at that small contact worked its way through her.
“We didn’t get to finish our conversation,” he said.
Her heart lodged in her throat.“Um.”
“I’d love a chance with you.”
After everything she had unloaded on him.“You sure about that?”
“You doubt me?”
“No.I doubt myself.”
He tilted her chin up with a gentle finger.“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know if I can handle being disappointed.”
“By me?”That hand drifted down to her shoulder, sending a mixture of tingles and warm safety through her.
“No.Of course not.By me.By my situation.By the things that make me nervous.”
“Then I will do my part to try to never hurt you.”
“This is scary,” she managed to say, reaching across and covering his hand with hers where it rested on her arm.
He laced their fingers together and brought their hands between them.“What part of it is scary?”
It took her a minute to organize the words.“All of it.My future.Our future.Feeling exposed socially.Knowing what you want out of life.New things.”
His shrug came with a goofy smile.“What is life without trying new things?”
“Sure, but I don’t want to hurtus.”She let go of him and pressed her hand to her chest.“This.Our years of friendship.”
“The friendship between us will always be there.”
“But.”
“What if we’ve been missing out on something even more special?”
“I don’t want to be hurt.”I don’t wanttohurt.There was a difference.
He cupped her jaw with his hands.“I would rather die than hurt you, Lou.I want to try.”
Her mouth went dry.
How could she accept what he was offering, knowing that it wasn’t what he had envisioned for his future?
Tuli was an adult.The cards were all on the table.He knew the facts just like she did and could make an informed decision.
Besides, what if they had a future together?Maybe not the future they had originally envisioned, but a new future.Together.
He cleared his throat.“So.How do you want to do this?”
“This?”
