mind before we talked to Nancy and my mom. Then we were blindsided, and I reacted so badly. Please, believe me, that if I could take back those words, I would. I am so sorry I hurt you, and I’m begging you to forgive me.”
He held her gaze as he held her hand and watched a single tear slide down her cheek.
20
Lynn felt the tear drop from her cheek and glanced down to see it had landed on Nolan’s hand. The moisture pooled around his ring finger, and she sucked in her breath to see the band of white gold still where she had placed it. Lifting her gaze to his anguished face, his sincerity was evident.
Her heart ached in her chest and she dragged in a heavy breath. She nodded as she let it out slowly. “I believe you,” she began and felt his fingers clench hers a little tighter. “And I accept your apology. It was… stressful… all of it. We probably managed to jam more emotions into two days than should be humanly possible.”
He snorted slightly, nodding, his lips barely curving.
“Neither of us planned what happened, and you’re not the only one who enjoyed our time together, Nolan. Everything we did was fun and getting to know you was special. I also found myself wondering ‘what if.’ Wondering if there was a future beyond our adventure.”
She glanced down at their hands again and cleared her throat. “It’s true that I worshiped the ground you walked on when we were much younger--”
“No, Lynn, don’t. You don’t need to talk about this or justify anything,” he rushed.
“I know, but it’s true. We both know it so to ignore it makes no sense.” She licked her lips, faced her adolescent embarrassment, and continued. “I didn’t have an older brother and always envied the relationship you had with Nancy. Let’s be honest… you were a gorgeous teenager, and while I was just a gawky, nerdy, little-sister-tag-along, you were definitely the stuff of my teenage dreams. Nancy used to say that she wished we were sisters and if I married you, then we would be. Right before you left for the Navy, I foolishly tried to kiss you, and that was wrong on every level.”
“Lynn, no, please. Don’t think I didn’t notice you.”
Her head jerked back slightly in surprise, but she had no idea what he meant. “When?”
“Believe me, I noticed when you went from being a gawky, nerdy, little-sister-tag-along to a very pretty teenager with the promise of unbelievable beauty.”
Shaking her head quickly, she felt the blush of embarrassment hit her and said, “You don’t have to say this—”
“You’re right, I don’t. But it’s the truth.” His face contorted in a grimace. “I had just turned eighteen years old and you were only sixteen. I wasn’t going to tie myself down before heading off into adulthood, but the only reason I didn’t take that kiss further was that you were too young.”
Her heart began to pound. “You were man enough to apologize to me, and I need to be adult enough to apologize to you, also. It was wrong of me to kiss you the way I did. I know now it’s never right for someone to force a kiss on anyone else, but I especially put you in an awkward position.”
His lips curved more, and her gaze snagged on his smile. “Honestly, there’s no need for you to apologize, but if it makes you feel better, I accept. Just know that if you’d been older, I wouldn’t have stopped the kiss.”
She sucked her lips in, giving a little nod. While glad to hear that he didn’t resent her, she could not fight the overwhelming sense of heaviness that pressed on her heart. Her voice was shaky, but she pushed ahead. “I’m glad we cleared the air, and it’s nice to know that I wasn’t the only one who felt something special when we were in the mountains. But Nolan, we need to be smart. Two days of special does not make a future.”
“Unless we give it a shot, we have no idea what our future could be.”
“You’re actually talking about a future with me?” She blinked, staring at him in incredulity.
“All I know is that I don’t want you to contact an attorney tomorrow morning.”
“Why? What could be the purpose of not moving forward with a divorce?”
He leaned forward slightly, and for a second, she wondered if he was going to kiss her. Instead, he moved his head so that