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All serious and somber, he stalks inside and stares at me. I tense up, expecting him to tell me something bad. If he’s stuck in that seriousness, something has to be wrong. Before I can ask or say anything, he clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck.
“We need to talk.”
I blink, trying to think of how to reply. Yeah. Hell, yeah, we do. I was just thinking that and kicking myself for the way we either avoid communicating or simply have lacked the time to do so. Hearing him declare it intimidates me. Why does he want to speak with me so urgently all of a sudden?
As I stand there and watch him, my heart constricts in a bad way. My stomach knots up, and I brace myself for something awful. I don’t know how many more hits I can take, but it seems something bad is in store for me tonight.
“I love you.”
I hold my breath, replaying his words again in my mind. Did I hear him right? I raise my brows, mute and too stunned to reply. Of all the things he could have blurted out first, I hadn’t been prepared for that.
His simple, direct words pummel into me, and I almost knock the dress form over in reaction. I’m not going to faint. I’m not that kind of girl. I stumble, though, clumsy in body and mind as I try to accept what he has just told me.
I hurry to catch the mannequin shape and steady the dress. I use it as an anchor, too, keeping myself upright as I rely on it to stand.
“I’m sorry for being a dick.”
I open and close my mouth, shocked even more with his apology. Again, not at all what I was expecting to hear from his lips today.
“I…” He rubs the back of his neck again but doesn’t waver in maintaining eye contact with me. “I’ve never been in love before. Not real love like this. and I never want to be in love with anyone but you. Only you, Claire.” He licks his lips before adding, “The idea of losing you has been eating me alive for weeks, and I can’t stand the fact that it could happen.”
I smile, choking on a sob. I’m so close to bursting into tears, so near an overwhelming level of joy and relief.
Sawyer loves me.
He loves me!
For so long, I wished it could be true, and now, the wait and anxiety is over. I don’t have any doubt he’s speaking the full truth. He looks at me with such raw and real emotion, I don’t consider the possibility that he could be lying. It’s been hard enough to dissect and try to decipher what he really wants from me. One minute, he’s trying to save me from my mother, showering me with gifts and resources to go forward in my desired career. The next, he’s walking back an almost proposal to something that seems like a business agreement for show. I’ve wondered every night since that day—how he could bounce back and forth between such extremes, and since Lauren and Aubrey put the idea in my head that he’s trying to show me how much he cares for me, I’ve been letting this seedling of hope take root in my mind.
I sniffle and set the dress form up so I can step away from it. “I love you, too.”
Each step I take toward him feels like a new beginning. For the first time, I do chase a man. This man. And as I hurry across the room to him, I’m propelled with an urgency that I hope will never fade. I run to him, assured after this moment that I will always be confident that I can overcome any threat of losing him.
He clutches me to him, catching me with those thick, strong arms I’ve come to rely on. He’ll hold me when I need comfort; he’ll hug me when I seek his affection. In his embrace, I never need to question my worth or the depth of our connection ever again.
“Claire,” he utters my name with such elation and excitement, I can tell he was worrying about how I would take this news. I loathe the possibility that he was afraid I wouldn’t reciprocate and give him my heart, too, but no more. We only have the future to remind each other as often as we please just how much we matter to each other.
“I love you, Sawyer,” I repeat before he crushes his lips to mine.
I stand up on my toes, eager to push back up against him and prove with my actions how badly I need this kiss and want him with all my soul.
He breaks away, breathing hard before me as he smiles with such a sweet contentment I want to make it my daily promise. That with each morning that rises and before every night falls, I’ll put this amazing smile on his face.
“And I love you.” He seals it with another tender brush of his soft lips over mine, and I sigh into his kiss.
“But…” He sighs, heaving his chest against me. I cling to him, draping my arms over his shoulders as they slump.
“No.” I shake my head. “No buts.”
He sobers, losing the smile. I hold on fast to the fact that he doesn’t release me. If anything, he hugs me closer, like preparing to brace me for a hit and wishing he could shield me from it coming near us at all.
I shake my head harder, wanting to pout. “No. Uh-huh. You can’t be serious. You’re not allowed to tell me you love me and then say but.” I refuse to accept it. He cannot be planning to declare his love and follow with an ultimatum or threat! It’s impossible to think I can go from such a sweet high and sink to this deep low of whatever has him so stressed out.
He nods, then kisses my nose. “I have bad news.”
“About what?” I grip his shirt and shake my fist once.
“The estate. Your estate.”
