Page 49 of The Lake House

She shakes her head. “Don’t be. I wish I would have seen it sooner.”

I reach out, grabbing her hand. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”

She searches my gaze, looking for something. I hope she knows I’m here for her for whatever she needs, but if she doesn’t, I’m going to let her know. I give her hand a squeeze. “Giuliana, I’m here for you if you need me… whenever you need me.”

She runs her thumb over my hand and offers me a soft smile that melts my heart. “Thank you, Declan.”

* * *

After our little heart-to-heart, Giuliana and I take a seat on the Ferris Wheel where we get an amazing look of the whole town and I’m tempted more than once to kiss her. It’s such a romantic setting with the stars above and the lake below us, but I don’t want to make a move too soon that it kills the entire evening. Right now, I’m just enjoying the sound of her voice, her laughter, and the sway of her hands as she speaks. Everything she does is beautiful, graceful, and I just want her to know that. I’m hoping I get enough courage to let her know all of this soon.

Once we come off the Ferris Wheel, we decide to take a walk hand-in-hand around the fair. It’s funny how natural it feels to be holding her hand in mine, like it’s something we’ve been doing for decades. It’s still pretty early, around nine-thirty, and I have no plans to take her back home just yet. I’m enjoying tonight more than she will ever know.

We stop at the pier overlooking Silver Mist Lake, the same one that borders the whole town of Silver Mist, and I slightly turn my body to get a good view of her. She’s so fucking beautiful and I just wish I could have taken away any pain and suffering she ever went through.

I see her suck in a breath. “I love it so much here. I don’t know why I ever thought it was a good idea to leave this place. It’s always been so beautiful and serene... it just makes you feel so good inside, you know?”

I nod, and she turns to face me.

“Declan?”

“Yeah?” I respond with a small smile.

“How come you never asked me out before all of this?”

Whoa. That came out of left field. “I... uh...” I don’t know what to say. Every summer that she’d come by and we’d talk, I would always want to ask her out, but I never had the courage to do so. Maybe I was shy back then. Maybe I thought I’d never get a chance with a girl like her. I don’t know, but something kept me from letting her know how I truly felt about her.

She turns back to face the water. “I mean, I know when I first started coming around we were young, too young, to date or anything. And then, once the right time came, I was already with Todd...”

I nod, thinking back. “Yeah, I know. But I was stupid. I never thought you’d go for a guy like me.”

“A guy like you?” Her eyebrows furrow.

“Yeah,” I shrug.

A small smile pulls on the corners of her lips. “A guy like you... meaning gorgeous and perfect in every way?”

Her confession of finding me attractive makes my cock stiffen. Fuck, I want to tongue her down so badly. But all I can do is chuckle, and she giggles right along with me.

“Come on, Dec. You have to know what a catch you are, right?”

I playfully roll my eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe you should convince me.”

She turns again to face me and bites down on her bottom lip. I can see the wheels in her head spinning wildly. “Maybe I will.”

Fuck. I really hope she will.

* * *

About an hour later, Giuliana and I find ourselves back on her doorstep. It’s like one of those old school movies where the high school guy is dropping off the hot girl from school right before her father comes looking for her with a shotgun in his hands.

Except we’re adults and there’s no one here looking for her. No one is going to cut our time short, and as much as I don’t want to say good night to her right now, I know it’s the right thing to do.

“I had a great night with you, Giules… I hope we can do it again soon,” I say, hoping she’ll tell me she agrees.

She nods.

That’s a good sign!

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