“I’m thinking if I’m going to have to find a new woman and ask her out and the whole nine yards, I probably need to practice kissing.”
Was he really that insecure, after all this time?
“Logan, you’ve had more than enough practice. You aren’t awkward anymore.”
“I’m the most awkward man on the planet.” He shook his head. “I’m so awkward I can’t even protect the woman I love without hurting her.”
“The woman you love?”
Stupid hope flickered to life again, refusing to die a dignified death.
“The woman I love more than life.” His fingers brushed sparks from the corner of her mouth across the puckered scar on her cheek, meandering into her hair and tangling on the back of her head. He leaned in, his pupils dilating. He paused, his lips inches away, his intense gaze glued to hers. “May I?”
She tore her eyes away, turning her face. “I can’t do it, Logan. I know you have good intentions, but I need…” How could she explain it? He could never understand how her soul longed for security.
“You need someone who’ll be there through thick and thin.” He hadn’t moved an inch. So close she could smell his aftershave and the fresh mint of his breath, he caught her gaze again. “I get it now. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere. No one else can love you like I do.”
Thump! Thump!
Her heart was so loud it echoed against the walls in the room.
Maybe she shouldn’t take the risk. What if they didn’t last? Her soul had already borne more pain than she could stand.
“Unless…” A knot formed between his brows, liquid shining in his eyes. “Unless I’m too late. Unless you don’t love me anymore.”
His hand began to withdraw, his fingers untangling from her hair.
If she let him go, he would be gone forever. Out of her life. She could forget she’d ever met Logan West.
She could begin to heal. She could build her walls again, tall and thick. Nothing would reach her.
No heartbreak. No pain.
Numbness.
No joy.
No love.
“I love you, Logan.” She surged upward, her mouth finding his, her hands clinging around his neck. Passion coursed between them as if it had been years instead of days since their lips last touched. Far from sisterly, his mouth claimed hers until her toes curled inside her socks.
Then he ripped his mouth away, his fingertips feathering down her cheek. “You’re crying.”
“I’m scared,” she admitted. “I’m so scared.”
“I know.” Logan sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her into the cocoon of his strong arms. “I know you’re scared, and it’s my fault.”
“I hate it. It makes me feel weak.”
“You aren’t weak, Ellery. Nothing about you is weak. I think that’s why I fell for you the first day we met.” His hands slid from her back and traced her arms to find her hands. He lifted her fingertips to his lips and placed a chaste kiss that still managed to raise chill-bumps on her arms. “I know I’m not worthy. I’m so far from perfect that I can’t promise I won’t let you down. But I promise I won’t leave you. No matter what. We’re in this together… if you can ever learn to trust me.”
“I trust you already,” she said. “I’ll always love you. I couldn’t even stop when I tried.”
To her horror, he dropped to one knee beside the bed, “Ellery, will you—”
“Stop!” She pressed her hand to his mouth. “You can’t do this! Not here! Not now! Not like this!”
“Why not?” His eyes stretched open, innocent and wide. “I love you. You love me. I promised to stay with you forever. Why can’t I—”
“Because!” She snatched her water cup from her tray and gulped, soothing her suddenly dry throat. “Because we have to date for at least a year. And it has to be romantic. And I have to be wearing something nice and have on makeup. I don’t want to get engaged looking like this! In a hospital room!”
“Okay.” Still on one knee, he counted on his fingers. “Date for a year. Romantic. Not in a hospital. You have to look nice.”
“You need to look nice, too,” she added. “You can’t do it when you’re all sweaty after a workout.”
“Got it.” An impish grin slid onto his face, dancing dimples teasing her. He stood and pulled her to her feet, locking his arms around her waist. “So when I ask you, if I meet all your qualifications, do you promise you’ll say yes?”
“Maybe…” She stuck her chin up in an exaggerated pose. “But I thought of one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I have to get one of those amazing kisses, like the one a few minutes ago.”
He smiled like she’d given him a gift.
“In that case, I’d better practice.”
His lips met hers, an adoring caress that enticed her in. At her hungry response, he deepened the kiss, his hands pressing her close. When his mouth finally withdrew, she sighed, basking in the warmth of his embrace.
