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About halfway to her house, I took a chance and called Damon.
He answered on the second ring. “If her place was broken into again, we probably need to get the state involved.”
“It’s not about that.”
“Oh.”
I pushed ahead. “We had a run-in with Clint today.” I explained what had happened. “I don’t know why, but all of this is really bugging me. This morning, I thought I wanted to build a life with her, and I do. I don’t know why my mind keeps going back to Clint.”
“I know why.”
“Enlighten me.” I was vulnerable, and though I didn’t like that feeling, I wanted to let my family in. I wanted to have relationships with them, and I trusted Damon.
“You want to protect Ella,” Damon said. “That’s normal. I think there’s a deeper issue. You really don’t know her or what happened to her in the past eight years. That’s just going to take time, bro. You’ll have to be patient if she’s not ready to talk about everything.”
It was good advice. “You’re right.”
“I know.”
I laughed. “When did you get so smart, little bro?”
Damon laughed, and for the first time in a long time, I realized how nice it was to be able to trust my brothers. “Always been smarter than you.”
I laughed. “Probably true. Thank you. Talk to you later.”
“Later, bro.”
When I pulled up to Ella’s house, I tried to rush over to her car and open her door for her, but she was already stepping out. She opened her arms, and I found myself being pulled into a kiss.
I grinned down at her. “What’s that for?”
She pressed her lips together for a second and then cocked her head. “This all feels right in so many ways. I’m grateful that you want to talk about everything. It’s hard for me, but before we can really move forward, I feel like both of us have to know more about each other’s pasts.”
“I’m glad we’re taking the time to talk, too.”
Chapter Thirty
Ella
We got settled out on the porch swing. It was colder tonight, and I pulled a blanket around me. “I’m willing to talk about everything with you,” I said. “That shows that I want this to work. I don’t know if you realize that, but it does.”
Noah nodded and squeezed my hand. “I do realize that. I want to be open with you about my past.”
For the next three hours, we poured out our hearts to each other. I talked about my marriage and the reasons I’d married Brian and then divorced him. I let myself be open and vulnerable. It was hard, but sharing it with Noah made it easier.
Then I asked, “Do you still want to have a future with me?”
Noah let out a light laugh and pulled me into his arms. “I’ve said this before: our future should’ve started eight years ago.” He gazed into my eyes, and despite the surrounding darkness, I could clearly feel this man’s intensity. I needed to know every part of him as well. “I want your future. I want your past. I want anything you want to give me.”
I kissed him like I could drink in all the security, the love, the pain, the passion. I wanted it, even if I didn’t know how to handle it.
He pulled back and grinned. “I love you.”
Tears filled my eyes. “I love you too.”
He gave me another kiss, his eyes blinking rapidly. “What do you want to know about me?”
I asked the hard questions—the ones about his military service, and the ones about his past relationships. I asked him how they had begun, what they had been like, and why they’d ended. It wasn’t as hard as I thought.
