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By the time I reach the living room, she’s already outside, probably waiting for the car share service she ordered.
“Hazel,” I call her, and she looks at me, her eyes glossy, tears staining her cheeks. “I’m not letting you go. You can leave after if you want. You can leave me,” I add, closing the distance between us until we’re a couple of feet apart. “But I can’t let you do that before you hear me out.” I couldn’t have stopped my father from leaving or my mom from passing away. But I’ll be damned if I’ll lose her from not telling her how I feel.
She gives me a once-over. “Okay. That’s fair.”
“I expressed myself badly. I don’t want you to think I don’t care about your feelings. I care about them a lot. I’m sorry I hurt you. I accidentally came across your journal, but reading it wasn’t accidental. I violated your trust, and I apologize for that,” I say, my voice calm, unlike the rough waves of emotions crashing inside my chest.
“Go on.”
“I read some of your entries a couple of times.”
A shade of pink crosses her cheeks, and she takes a step back.
“At first, I was intrigued by what you wrote about me being such a dick.”
She takes a step toward me. “Do you deny it?”
I lift my hands in surrender and realize I’m still wearing a towel. I should have gotten dressed, but there was no time. “I was a dick. You’re right. Then, I read about what you wanted to do with me, to me. What you wanted me to do to you… and I couldn’t stop.”
Hazel shifts her weight from one foot to another, squinting her eyes. “But you said you didn’t feel attracted to me until then.”
“No, because you were my assistant. An efficient one.”
“Even with daily mistakes?”
“Even then. But after I read those things, and when you wore that dress. I couldn’t get you off my mind.”
She stares at me, and a softer expression crosses her face. Hope warms me inside. Good. I’m getting somewhere. “I promise you, once we started seeing each other, I stopped reading it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I swear. I love you, Hazel.”
The rideshare arrives, and the car parks beside her. She stands there speechless, staring at me.
The driver blinks his lights to show us he’s here, so I wave him off. “Cancel it. You can charge us.”
Shaking his head, the driver peels off my driveway and leaves.
“You love me?” she repeats, a glint flickering in her eyes—bigger than ever.
“I love you. This is all new to me, too. I never let anyone close to me because I didn’t want to suffer the slightest inconvenience. But you—I couldn’t help falling for you. You’re the most caring, smart, snarky, and downright sexy woman I’ve ever met.”
She claps her hand to her mouth. “Archer, wow.”
“I don’t know how long it’ll take for you to feel the same way, but I’m not going anywhere… even if you do.” I hope she won’t. My heart squeezes at the possibility of her leaving me. But I have to tell her how I feel. I have to risk it.
“Two seconds.”
“What?”
“That’s how long it’ll take to tell you I love you too,” she says, shortening the gap between us. “I love you.”
A hot wave rolls over me. “You love me? You’re not just saying that?”
She takes my hand and puts it on her heart. “Feel it.” Her heart races in her chest almost as fast as mine. She squeezes my hand and threads our fingers together, pulling me close. “I’ve always felt something for you. Something intense, along with, hmmm, wanting to have sex with you. When I got to know you better, that emotion changed from resentment to love.”
I pull her into my arms. “You know there’s no letting you go now, right? This is it. You’re mine.”
