for that long. I am sorry, Liv,” Sammy said, his voice quiet. “I was an ass. I shouldn’t have decided for you.” His throat bobbed with a hard swallow. “I miss you. I know that doesn’t change anything, but I wanted you to know. I didn’t put up a fight because I thought I was doing the right thing—making it easier for you—but I never want you to think it was because I don’t care enough. Because I do. The moment I set eyes on you in that crappy orientation room in Shanghai nine years ago, I was a goner. Not a day has passed since that I haven’t thought of you, and I wish...I wish I could run away with you and hole up in the mountains somewhere, just the two of us. No Internet, no meddling families, no overreaching bosses...just us.” He laughed softly. “That sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”
“It doesn’t sound stupid at all.” Olivia’s eyes glistened. “I understand why you did what you did—with the email. I’m still upset about it...but I understand. And even though I hate that you decided for me, I don’t hate you. I could never hate you.”
And then her lips—lips he thought he’d never taste again—were on his, and everything disappeared except this woman, right here, right now.
Sammy tasted her greedily, his tongue delving into her mouth like they’d been apart for centuries instead of weeks. His hands snaked around her waist and snagged her dress in two tight fistfuls. She felt so good, so right, that a pack of wild horses couldn’t have dragged him away.
After an eternity that ended far too soon, they broke apart, panting for breath.
He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers, waiting for his heart rate to return to normal. He never wanted to leave. He’d give up everything—his business, his family, his life—to stay here with her, in this magical place where the world couldn’t touch them, forever.
“I love you.”
Three simple words. He’d said them before, a lifetime ago, but they took on new resonance now. Sammy was no longer a young, naïve college student caught up in the magic of a new city and first love. He was older, more battle-weary from the ups and downs of life. The joys and hardships, the many women his mother had thrown his way—none of whom had inspired an iota of what the woman in front of him did with a blink of her eyes or curve of her lips. That Sammy loved Olivia as deeply, as truly, and as irrevocably as he once had, even after all they’d been through, spoke volumes.
This was end game.
Olivia’s eyes widened a fraction of an inch, but Sammy barreled on before he lost his nerve. There was more he needed to say, and he wanted to get the words out before Olivia reacted to his confession, since he had no idea how she’d react. “It’s selfish of me, but when I woke up after you left and realized you weren’t there, I was devastated. I thought I could handle being away from you, but I can’t. I’ll always need you in my life. I know we have the issue with your company to think about, and I know I messed up, but I was hoping, maybe, we could figure it out together. For real.” His throat bobbed with a tight swallow. “That is, if you still want to.”
“Sammy.” A tear slipped down her cheek. He rubbed it away with his thumb, his chest aching. “I love you too. With all of my heart.”
A starburst of joy exploded inside him, but the initial sparks hadn’t even faded yet before her next words brought it all crashing down.
“But I need some time.”
A chill swept through the late-summer air, reminding them that fall was right around the corner and that no season, no matter how beautiful or beloved, lasted forever.
“What does that mean?” Sammy’s heart picked up pace, and he regretted all the champagne he’d drunk earlier. “You love me. I love you. That should be enough.”
Olivia pressed her fingers to her temple, her face twisted in torment. “Do you remember what you told me in Lake Tahoe?”
He responded with a blank stare.
“It’s not about love,” she said softly. “It’s about timing.”
Sammy stepped back. He needed space, air, something, because even though they were outside, he felt as though walls were closing in on him. “Is this about your job? Because—”
“No. Yes. No.” Olivia squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s not just