Page 62 of My Billionaire Neighbor's Secret

“Didn’t you?” she suddenly interrupted, cutting me off.

I was surprised. “What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you really want me for yourself?” she completed the question.

I was shocked, but I answered immediately. “Of course,” I said. “I was just confused and I’m really sorry. Honestly, more than my fear of getting hurt, I was more afraid of ending up hurting you. That would be unfair to you.”

She suddenly looked angry. “What’s unfair is that you never let me know what was bothering you. I was never given a chance to decide if I wanted to take that risk with you.”

“I know, and I’m sorry,” I told her sincerely.

She began to mellow down. Her face relaxed, and the expression in her eyes became sad once again. “Oh, Carter,” she sighed. “Maybe we’re just not meant to be with each other.”

“I don’t want to believe that,” I said truthfully. “At least spend the night with me before you leave for the airport. After that, if you still want to go, then there’s nothing I can do.”

She threw me an incredulous look. “I don’t know…” she said uncertainly.

She began to walk away slowly.

“I love you, Leigh,” I uttered. It was something that I had been holding back, not wanting to accept at the start. But now that I’ve said it, we were both shocked.

She turned around with a look of disbelief.

I looked into her eyes. “I love you, Leigh Andrews,” I repeated slowly and gently, the words resonating in my heart and my whole being.

At that very moment, I have never been more sure of anything in my life.

Chapter 27

LEIGH

Iwantedtoslaphim across the face, to scream at him and kick him. But instead, I ended up bursting into tears.

It wasn’t just because I had been waiting to hear those words. The emotions inside me were just too much already. All the pain that I had experienced because of him and Drake over the past year--- it was just a lot to handle and I have been setting it all aside, not acknowledging it as much as I needed to. I was just pretending to go on with life.

But now I felt like a dam of water had just exploded. My tears kept running down my cheeks and I couldn’t stop them.

Carter took me in his arms and said nothing else. He just held me for a long time.

I sobbed on his chest and he stroked my hair like I was a little child. And when I finally calmed down, we talked.Really talked heart to heart.

What he’d been through in his childhood and teenage years was unimaginable. It didn’t compare to the pain inflicted on me when Drake had betrayed and left me. I could understand why it was so hard for Carter to commit to anyone.

I already knew his story, but I never realized how deep the scars were. Now I understood him perfectly. And I appreciated him even more for it.

“Thank you for understanding and for accepting me as I am,” Carter said, pulling me close and embracing me tightly.

I relished his warmth and his honesty. I delighted in our newfound bond, a deeper connection of our hearts and souls.

“You’re not so bad,” I teased him. It made us both laugh. And just like that, the tension was gone.

“So then you’ll spend the rest of the day with me and stay with me until tomorrow?” he asked with a hopeful tone.

I grinned. “I’ll think about it,” I joked.

“What?” he said in shock. “There’s no fucking time anymore. Don’t force me to kidnap you or you will never get to Thailand!”

I laughed and gave him a playful slap on the shoulder. He suddenly leaned forward and kissed me passionately on the lips. I responded with fervor, feeling a leap of pure bliss lifting me up on cloud nine.

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