Fight Like You've Never Lost (Summer Lake #14) - S.J. McCoy Page 0,90

fast. “Why do I have to say it?”

He dropped one of those sweet little kisses that she used to love so much on her lips. “Because if you can say it now, I’ll believe you.”

She sniffed.

“But I don’t believe you can.”

She looked up into his beautiful blue eyes. Part of her wanted to say it. But she couldn’t. She’d never been able to and never would. She shook her head.

“No, you don’t?”

She sucked in deep breath and then slowly blew it out. “No, I’m not a liar.”

He rolled to the side, pulling her with him so that she lay face to face with him. His smile was tentative, but it was there, and she could feel one on her own face to match it. She knew what he wanted to hear. And as much as part of her didn’t want to, she had to tell him.

“I’ve hated you. You know that.”

He nodded.

“But I love you. I always have.”

He hugged her close to his chest and kissed her slowly and tenderly. Then he leaned back so he could see her face. “And I love you. I always have and I always will. And when I’m ready to let you out of bed, I’m going to show you that I didn’t lie to you.”

Leanne’s heart sank. She’d been caught up in the moment. But he’d brought it all crashing back down.

“You know, if you’ll just admit that you lied, I think I can live with it. I’ll get over the rest.”

He held her gaze for a long moment. “I want to be happy with that. But it still kills me that you don’t believe me.”

Anger bubbled up. She was tempted to roll out of bed, find her clothes, and go. But it felt so good to be lying here back in his arms. She’d finally accepted that he owned her heart and always would. It was time to stick around and work through it with him.

He smiled. “You’re angry but you’re not leaving?”

She nodded and snuggled against his chest. “This is why I said no talking. Not yet.”

He dropped a kiss on her forehead and held her closer. “You’re right. For now, this is all we need.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ryan poured them each a drink and took them to where she was standing in front of the window overlooking the lake.

“Thanks.” She took it with a smile.

He stood behind her and slid his arm around her waist, pulling her back against him. It was hard to believe that she was really here. He needed to be close to her, needed to have her in his arms and never let her go again.

He slid his hand inside her T-shirt, and she chuckled. “I hope you have a needle and thread and intend to sew all the buttons back on my dress. I’m not leaving here in your workout gear.”

He nuzzled his face into her neck. “What if I told you I don’t?”

She looked up at him over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

His heart raced. “You’ll just have to stay.” He knew he shouldn’t be going there yet, but he couldn’t help it. He had to. He needed her to know that this was it as far as he was concerned. He had her back, and he didn’t plan to let her go.

“I’d need clothes in the morning, even if I did.”

He met her gaze needing to know if she was misunderstanding him deliberately. She was.

She shrugged and stepped away from him. “Okay. So, I know what you mean. But … how …” She blew out a sigh and set her drink down. “Part of me wants to just bury my head in the sand and say okay; pretend that everything’s fine now. But you know I can’t.”

“I know, babes. And I can’t either. What you said … that you could live with it, find a way to get over it …” He shook his head. “That’s what I wanted to hear back then. I needed to know that you loved me enough to do that.”

Her eyes flashed, and he knew he was on dangerous ground, but he pushed on.

“I mean, I wanted you to believe in us no matter what. There is nothing to get over. I promise you. And I’m about to show you.” He held his hand out to her.

She looked at it and then looked into his eyes. “Where are we going?”

“Trust me?” He was only going to take her into the office, but he needed her to show him that