Page 22 of I Never Stopped Loving You

“I figured with how your lifestyle probably is, you would have just thrown it on a credit card or something.”

Through her hand I’m holding, I can feel as her body begins to slightly tremble from nerves. Her palms become slightly clammy, and she tries to pull away, but I don’t let her.

I cover our held hands with my other hand and feel her tension ease. My thumb traces along hers to where her hand connects with her wrist. I need to know one hundred percent that it’s her.

My Willow has a scar on her wrist. When we were kids, we were playing tag on the playground. I was it. I chased her as she ran toward the back of the school's property. She tripped, and when she tried to catch herself on the old metal fence, it sliced along her hand and wrist.

She panicked when she saw the blood and stopped moving entirely. She just stared, wide-eyed, as the blood began to run down her arm and drip onto the grass below.

I pulled off my sweatshirt and wrapped it around her wrist. I remember how quiet she was for the rest of the day. As if the sight of blood alone terrified her. She didn’t cry from the pain of it; she was only afraid.

The scar is still there. When my thumb brushes over the faded, raised scar, a tremor runs down my spine.

“There’s something you should know about me, Willow.” She looks up at me with those beautiful sparkling eyes. “I work hard to get what I want. And when I want something, I’ll do anything to get it.”

Those beautiful, plump lips of hers slightly part, and I swear I can hear the small gasp of air she takes in. Our eyes are locked, and it’s taking everything in me not to lean in and kiss her.

Not yet. I have to wait. I don’t want to rush things with her.

CHAPTER 11

WILLOW

“When I want something, I’ll do anything to get it.”

When he said those words, a part of me thought he wasn’t talking about the car anymore… He was talking about me. But that’s stupid. I just met this man this morning. There’s no way he could mean that about me…Could he?

Jenna would think so. She’s always believed in that love-at-first-sight shit and soulmates. True love and all that sappy romance garbage. Me? I believe that if two people like each other and work at their relationship, it may just be enough to keep things going. Lord knows my parents weren’t an example of anything remotely close to a healthy relationship.

“So, have you ever heard of this restaurant?” Noah asks as he squeezes my hand.

After he reversed out of the driveway and started down the road, he held my hand again and hasn’t let go since.

“Nope.”

“Since you said burgers, I knew this would be the perfect place. What do you think of peanut butter?”

“Peanut butter?” Did I hear him right?

“Yeah.”

“I mean, who doesn’t love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but on a burger?”

“Yep. They have a burger called Purgatory…”

“Wait. The burger is named Purgatory. As in the bible?”

“Yep. You’ll see. Their whole menu is based on those kinds of names. The Rapture, and The Reaper. There’s one called Hell and another called Fate. My favorite is either Purgatory or The Cataclysm.”

“What’s on The Cataclysm?” I ask.

I’m intrigued. I’ve worked at a few restaurants over the years during college, and none really had fun names for their food.

“Pulled pork, mac-n-cheese, and jalapeños. I have them add a pile of No Judgement onto my fries too.”

“And that is?”

“Pulled pork and cheese sauce,” he says.