Page 7 of Barbed Wire and Burglary
His fingers tightened around hers. “I’m trying not to rush things between us.”
Really? That’s the reason?She swung her gaze back to him and found him earnestly searching her face. The realization that he was being serious made her scramble to respond to what he’d left unsaid. “I’m glad you followed me to Heart Lake so we could explore what’s happening between us. Very, very glad.” She hoped that didn’t make her sound desperate.
Elation lit his expression, but his voice was cautious. “Though I appreciate you saying that, I’m still a widower who’s ten years older than you.”
“It doesn’t matter to me.” Was that what was holding him back? “All that matters is how we feel about each other. I want this, A.J. I wantus.” Yeah, she totally sounded desperate. She blamed it on her frequent moves and the secrecy of her job—things that had made her dating life nonexistent.
Until now.
Until him.
“Me, too.” His voice turned gravelly. “I apologize if I’ve been giving you mixed signals about it.”
He hadn’t, but he also hadn’t told her the one thing she was longing to hear the most—that he loved her. She wanted to hear it so badly that she felt like weeping. He cared for her. She didn’t doubt that, but was it enough? Would it ever be enough?
“Do you think you could ever fall in love again?” Shespoke without thinking, then immediately wished she hadn’t. It was too soon. She might be ready to take the next step in their relationship, but he clearly wasn’t.
He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, then closed it again.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you that.” She gently tugged at her hands, trying to pull them away from his. “Could we please, please, please pretend like I didn’t?”
He dropped her hands to hook an arm around her waist and yank her closer. “Not a chance.”
“A.J.,” she breathed. “I don’t have any right to?—”
“Sure, you do.” His voice grew rough. “Any woman who lets me kiss her the way you let me kiss you has every right to know where we stand with each other. I just wasn’t sure you were ready to hear it.”
Oh, I’m ready.She felt her eyes grow damp.So ready!
“Yes, I’m capable of loving again.” He gathered her closer. “For years, I didn’t think it was possible, but you’ve made it possible.”
She blinked at him, hardly daring to breathe. “What are you saying?”
“I love you, Aurora.” He sounded so agonized that her heart twisted with a whole new brand of angst. “If it’s too soon to say that?—”
“It’s not,” she cut in, knowing the timing of his declaration probably wouldn’t sit well with Aaron, but she’d deal with his objections later. Right now, she needed A.J. to know she felt the same way about him.
“I’m in love with you, too,” she informed him breathlessly. When they’d first crossed paths, she’d sensed they would become more to each other. Who cared if their first encounter had only been a month ago? Who cared if anyone else thought their relationship was moving too fast? Somepeople waited their entire lives for somebody this special to come along.
Pure joy sprang into A.J.’s eyes, nearly bringing her to her knees. “Honestly? I wasn’t expecting you to say it back. Please don’t feel pressured to?—”
“Really, A.J.?” It felt like sunlight was bursting through her skin, but she still managed to roll her eyes at him. “I’m pretty sure twenty-nine is old enough for a woman to know how she truly feels.”
The hard lines of his face softened. “If you’re sure.”
She stared at him in amazement. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more sure about anything in my life.” While everything else in her life was in chaos, their love for each other felt like an anchoring point.
“Is this really happening?” He touched his forehead to hers, sounding awed.
“It better be.” A shaky chuckle tumbled out of her. “Because if I wake up from this and find out you don’t really love me—” Her words were swallowed up by his next kiss.
“I love you,” he assured huskily. “I don’t think I could stop if I tried.”
“Are you trying?” She had to ask.
“Nope.” He yanked off one of his gloves to palm her cheek. “I’m going to keep on loving you, no matter what. I hope you’ll do the same.” The raw pleading in his voice shook something deep inside her.
“I will,” she promised, wondering all over again if he was beginning to suspect she was something other than what she claimed to be. Would he be disappointed when he knew the truth? “The mechanic and the perfumer,” she murmured. “It sounds like something out of a storybook.”
