Chance - Deborah Bladon Page 0,70

strained to hear but before I could ask him to repeat it, I'd heard the sound of his breathing slowing. He'd fallen asleep instantly and here, in my room, in my bed; I'd curled my body next to his and had drifted off, wrapped snugly in his arms.

"I need you to wake up." His voice is more persistent now. There's a definite urgency woven into the tone. "Please wake up."

I roll over, my eyes fluttering open slowly. The room is still dark and as I reach to the bedside table to find my phone, something falls onto the floor. I hear the faint sound of it hitting the cork floor boards. "What time is it?"

"I don't know." He fumbles with the small lamp that is next to the bed. The bulb is so dim that the light that does fill the space is muted and calming. "It doesn't matter."

That's easy for him to say. He's the boss where he works. He runs the entire show. I, on the other hand, have to answer to Clive Parker. I know I could wander in hours late and my job would still be secure, but I don't want to take advantage of something I value so much. "I'm tired, Caleb. I need to sleep."

"I love you."

I blink twice. That's not what he said. "What did you say?"

"I love you."

As a friend, Rowan. He forgot that part.

"Caleb." I feel a shiver run through me when he sits next to me. "You know that I love you too."

He turns his head to look down at me. "Do you love me the same way I love you?"

I need to sit up. I have to gain some form of perspective in order to have this conversation. I try to scramble my legs up the bed but I falter. I kick without gaining any traction. He does nothing but sit in place and stare at my face.

"Help me." I reach for his arm for leverage and he bends it. I grab hold of his large bicep and use it to help pull me far enough up the bed that I can finally sit and look at him.

He brushes his hand over my forehead. "You're more beautiful every time I see you."

I push the hairs that have stuck to the side of my face when I was sleeping aside. "I'm must be a mess. I was fast asleep."

"I should have told Asher to bring you to quad that day." He presses his lips to my forehead. "I knew it then. I knew Tom was all wrong for you."

I don't mind being woken from a deep sleep if an actual emergency exists. Talking about a man I don't think about anymore, doesn't qualify as important enough to warrant any extra attention. "I don't want to talk about him. That's been over for so long."

"I bought you something." He pushes his bare ass off the bed and leans down to pick up something from the floor. "I wanted to give it to you that day during your senior year."

I dip my chin down to try and get a glimpse of what's hidden within his fist, but I don't see a thing. "What is it?"

He uses his free hand to pull on my arm, motioning for me to sit in his lap. I do. I crawl into it, nuzzling my face into his neck.

"I wasted most of my life, Bell." His chest heaves as he works to catch his breath. "I kept thinking that I had to give up my love for you to have you as my friend."

I look up into his face. "We can be both."

"I was terrified when you loved Tom." He traces a path across my shoulder with his fingers. "I thought we'd never have a chance."

"We have a chance now."

"For so long I've believed that I needed to stay out of the way so you could find a man who would love you the way you deserved to be loved." He rests his chin against my cheek. "I didn't think you wanted me the same way I wanted you."

"I know." I sweep my fingers over his forehead. "I know that you didn't think that."

"Do you remember when you were a teenager and you had that crush on Ian?

I laugh against into his cheek. "I never had a crush on Ian."

"You did." He pulls me closer to him. "I wanted to kill him. I was so fucking jealous. I saw the way you looked at him and I