Page 217 of That Rush

“Aiden…”

“Nothing has to be resolved tonight.”

She exhales slowly. I can picture her pressing her fingers to her forehead, deciding whether I mean it.

“What are you asking?”

“I finished something at the ranch. I’d like to show it to you and explain what I understand now.”

“What did you finish?”

“The old office.”

Another pause.

“That room was part of the problem.”

“I know.”

“Do you?”

“I designed it as one more reason you should belong in my house. That isn’t what it is anymore.”

“What is it?”

The answer waits behind me in the separate entrance, the working lock, and an envelope containing every key.

“I want you to see it. Decide for yourself what it means before I say another word.”

“Aiden, if this is another way to convince me to move in…”

“It isn’t.” The denial comes out sharper than I intend, and I lower my voice. “There’s no proposal, deadline, or request waiting here. Coming to look at the room doesn’t commit you to me or anything I’ve built.”

The porch stays quiet except for the wind.

“I want another chance,” I continue. “I want you back so badly I haven’t slept through the night since you left. I also understand that wanting you doesn’t give me the right to tell you what to give me.”

Her breath catches softly across the line.

“If I say no?” she asks.

“Then I accept no.”

“And if I come but leave without giving you an answer?”

“I’ll watch you leave.”

The words scrape my throat. They are still true.

Paige remains silent long enough that I force my hand to loosen around the phone. A yes to seeing me cannot become a promise she never made.

“The library closes at seven,” she says. “I can be there around eight.”

Hope slams into me, and my hand clamps down on the porch railing.

“Take whatever time you need.”

“I said around eight, Aiden.”