Page 114 of Forever After All

He still thought cuddling was a bad idea. Hence his insistence on lying on the floor by the heat source. Maybe if he was uncomfortable enough, he’d stop thinking about being alone with Jess during a thunderstorm twenty miles out in the wilderness.

“Well, it was all Brett’s fault.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Linc said.

Her little finger brushed against his hand as she spoke. The woman was intent on getting close to him, and he both loved and hated it.

“We’d had a ton of snow, and Brett said Dad had a piece of metal in the shed we could use to sled down the hill behind our house. I was maybe eight.”

Linc wanted to slap young Brett upside the head. Sledding was generally harmless, but knowing Jess was about to get beat up in this story had Linc bowed up and ready to knock her brother silly.

“We went up and down that hill all day, but I ended up flipping on the last ride down. Brett thought we should try a different hill. I slid right into a tree at the bottom. I guess I hit it with my shoulder first, but I really don’t remember.”

“Brett is getting my fist in his face when we get back.”

Jess laughed. “He made up for it. He took care of me the whole time I had to wear the sling. I think it was the one time I can remember when he didn’t pester me. Back then, I didn’t know why he was being nice to me. Looking back, I bet he felt bad. There’s a lot of things I didn’t understand when I was younger.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. Kids don’t understand a lot.”

“What about adults? I still don’t know how to interact with people ninety percent of the time.”

The hint of sadness in her words had Linc’s chest tightening. Jess was different, but there wasn’t anything wrong with her, and he hated to think she’d spent her life thinking she wasn’t normal.

He wrapped his pinky around hers, sensing she needed reassurance. “It’s okay if you don’t understand. We’re not supposed to always know why people do the things they do.”

She turned to face him, and her grin was solemn. “I love that you don’t look at me like I’m stupid when I don’t understand things. I love that you explain things plainly, but you don’t talk to me like I’m a kid. I love that you see and know things about me, even if I don’t say it out loud.”

Linc swallowed hard, but the words he needed to say came out in a rush. “I love you just the way you are.”

Jess gasped, and her eyes widened. She sat up a little and stared at him, frozen with her lips slightly parted.

The confession was only half out, but he was committed now. She deserved to know the whole truth. He sat up, propping on one arm and facing her. “I’m going to tell it to you straight. I love you. I think I’ve always loved you. Everything about you.”

He was fighting for each breath now as the heat from the stove melted his skin. Or maybe it was the fear of what Jess would say when he finished his confession. He was ready to cut himself open so she could see the mess inside.

“You’re strong. You’re not afraid to tell me like it is or kick me when I get out of line. I love that you have my back, and I have yours.”

He brushed a thumb over her cheek, craving the softness of her skin against his calloused hands. “I love that you’re so beautiful I can’t think straight. And you don’t even try. I love that you make me want to be a better person because you deserve the best.”

Jess stared at him, completely unmoving. Since he’d decided to lay it all on the line, he might as well get it all out there or die trying.

“You’ve been dating, and it’s been tearing me up to see you with anyone else. I know what I want. I want you and only you. No other woman on earth could turn my head. If I have you, I have everything. If I don’t have you, I’m lost.”

He’d said more in the last two minutes than he’d said in the last month, and if Jess’s unmoving stare was anything to go by, she was completely lost.

She closed her mouth, then opened it again. “That makes sense,” she whispered. “You’re the only thing that makes sense.”

Linc wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to him where she could rest her head on his shoulder. “That’s quite an honor.”

She nestled closer and relaxed against him. “I never thought I’d love anyone. I’m not sure if this is love, but I think it has to be. I can’t imagine living my life with anyone but you.”

Linc pressed a kiss to her hair and rested his cheek against her head. “I haven’t felt it before you either. I just hope I get this right because I don’t ever want to lose you.”

“We’ll figure it out together.”

“It might take a while. We’re both stumbling in the dark,” Linc said.

Jess sat up, propping on her arm to look down at him. Her blonde hair draped beside him, and he brushed a hand through the soft waves.

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