Page 313 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

I smile without humor. "It worked so well that sometimes I think I separated parts of myself too."

Annette's expression breaks my heart. Not because she pities me. Because she understands me.

"So, when I fell in love with you..."

A quiet laugh escapes me.

"...I did the one thing I promised myself I'd never do."

"I decided to let you into almost every part of my life."

I glance around the room.

"My parents."

"The foundation."

"My teammates."

"My fears."

"My dreams."

"Our future."

I look down at our joined hands before raising my eyes to hers once more.

"But not all of me."

My words barely rise above a whisper. "Because I didn't know how."

Neither of us speaks for several seconds. The room is so quiet I can hear the soft hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen and the distant murmur of traffic twenty floors below.

Then I finally say the words that have been waiting in my heart for months.

"Because I don't want you to know only half of me."

Annette closes her eyes. A single tear slips free.

"If we're going to build a future..." I continue, my voice unsteady now, "...you deserve all of me."

"The good parts."

"The broken parts."

"The parts everyone sees."

"And the parts I've spent my whole life hiding."

***

She lifts our joined hands and presses them gently against her heart.

When she speaks, her voice is soft enough that I have to lean closer to hear it.

"Oh, Jamie..."

She smiles through tears. "I fell in love with all of you long before you knew how to show me all of you."