Page 108 of The Invitation
His face darkens.
“And now I think maybe you’re not. I want to hope you’re not. But …”
He picks up my hand and places a kiss on my palm. “Honestly? Iwastrying to get you to fall for me.”
My insides still.
“I told myself it was to put you in your place because that made me feel better, you know? I could justify that,” he says, running a finger down my cheek. “But really, it was because I wanted you to want me. I was just scared as hell that you wouldn’t and that would hurt even more.”
I lock my heels around his back.
“But, Peaches, I swear to you—I swear on Waffles—that this is all real. I understand that you’re scared or have reservations. That’s not a problem. I can fix that. I can be here. I can prove to you that I mean all the things I say. And, if I have to wait another decade to get you to understand, then I guess it’ll really suck now that I’ve had you.” He kisses me simply, sweetly. “But I’ll wait until you’re sure.”
I scoot to the edge of the counter and drape my arms over his shoulders. Then I look at the camera in the corner. Myla won’t be able to keep these references to our past relationship. But she definitely has to lose this.
“Myla, you’re going to need to cut it here,” I say, laughing at Ripley nibbles on the side of my neck.
He picks me up and carries me out of the room. We’re upstairs when the smoke alarm goes off, reminding us of the bacon.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ripley
“Well, ladies and gentlemen,”I say into my phone. “She’s the one. And that’s the update.”
I end the video and leave the bathroom.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Georgia
Ripley’s handrests on my thigh as he drives me back home. Every now and then he gives my leg a little squeeze, almost as if he’s quietly confirming I’m still here.
“It feels wrong to take you home,” Ripley says.
I rest my head on the window. “I know. It feels wrong to go home.”
“So don’t.”
I trace a muscle along his forearm and wish I didn’t have to.
“This is new,” he says, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “But is it, really? It’s not like we met at a bar and went home together. I’ve known you for years.”
“And we’ve hung out for years, even if we stayed on opposite sides of the room.”
“Biggest mistake of my life,” he says, pressing his fingertips into my thigh.
I’ve thought about this a lot—all night while Ripley slept with a death grip on me. I’ve wasted so many years of my life holding on to perceived infractions against me. And, by refusing to let goof those things, I’ve kept myself in a holding pattern. My dreams died. I couldn’t progress, couldn’t continue with my life because I’d blocked my own blessings.
My blessings were designed to come through Ripley.
I believe that with all of my heart, even if it scares me shitless.
I don’t know what I’ll do if this doesn’t work because he already has my heart. I don’t want to admit that out loud, and I’m not sure if I even want to admit it to myself in alet’s act on thisway. But that doesn’t change the facts.
I’m fucked—in more ways than one.
There’s still a little voice in my head warning me that his intentions might be cruel, and he might leave when things get inconvenient. And both things are possible. But I’m choosing not to let that small voice overpower logic … or my heart. I’ve done that my whole life. Look where it’s gotten me.
