Page 186 of Say Yes to the Nemesis
“Now he knows I don’t need protecting. I need supporting. There’s a difference.”
“Smart man.”
“He has his moments.”
Ryan pulls me closer. I curl into him, breathing in the scent of his skin and the faint smell of his soap. This is what home smells like now. This is what safety feels like.
“Wren?”
“Mmm?”
“I’m really glad you came on that stupid show.”
“Even though it was a disaster?”
“Especially because it was a disaster. The best things in my life have come from disasters.”
“Like what?”
“Like you. Like this. Like figuring out that sometimes the thing you think will ruin you is actually the thing that saves you.”
I lift my head to look at him. His expression is so open and honest it takes my breath away.
“You saved me, too,” I tell him.
“From what?”
“From thinking I wasn’t worth choosing. From believing I had to stay small to be loved. From settling for less than everything.”
“You were always worth choosing, Wren. You just needed someone to see it.”
“And you saw it.”
“From the first day. Even when you were hiding behind that clipboard like it was armor.”
“I wasn’t hiding.”
“You were totally hiding.”
“Okay, maybe I was hiding a little.”
“A little?”
“Fine. I was hiding a lot. But I’m not hiding anymore.”
“No. You’re not.”
He’s right. I’m not hiding anymore. I’m not the girl who stands in the background waiting for someone to notice her. I’m the girl who speaks up in meetings and pitches crazy ideas and isn’t afraid to take up space.
I’m the girl who fell in love with a hockey player on national television and didn’t care what anyone thought about it.
I’m the girl who’s running her own show and building her own life and choosing her own future.
“So,” I say, settling back against his chest. “What do we do now?”
Ryan grins and pulls me closer, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “Anything we want.”
And for the first time in my life, I believe that’s actually true.
