Heartbreak Lover (Broken Hearts Academy #2) - C.R. Jane Page 0,55

to enjoy our meal, so I ordered from Caputo’s.”

I laughed and settled myself down on the blanket, ignoring the way my leg groaned in protest.

Jackson had ordered my favorite chicken salad dish with pecans and red grapes, croissants, a vegetable plate, a Caesar salad, and their specialty white chocolate cranberry cookies for dessert. It was enough food for five people, and I couldn’t wait to dig in.

Jackson poured us both wine, and then we ate quietly, admiring our surroundings and listening to the birds chirp around us.

It was like I’d stepped into a Disney movie. I’d never seen something so perfect, and I never wanted to leave.

“How did you find this place?” I finally asked when I’d finished stuffing myself with the delicious food.

“I needed to get away one day, so I decided to go for a drive. And I swear, it was like magic, because I was just driving along, and I got the urge to stop at the side of the road and go for a walk. I felt like an idiot walking through the woods without a trail or a plan, and then I stepped through the trees and I knew I was meant to find this place. Every time things just become too much, I come out here. No matter the season, there’s always some kind of flower blooming here. It’s my favorite place in the world.”

“Mine too,” I whispered, entranced with his story.

“Can I tell you something, and you not run away?” he asked intently, staring at me as if my answer held the key to his entire world.

I hesitated before answering, because I felt like a flight risk in many ways when it came to him and I was afraid of the truths that could potentially come out of his mouth.

I took a look around though, and decided to pretend that nothing bad could happen in a place as lovely as this.

He scooted closer to me, getting up on his knees and settling in right in front of me so that our faces were only a few inches apart.

“I’m going to marry you here one day. I stepped into this field that first time, and that was all I could think. I saw you in a long white dress, your champagne curls streaming behind you as you ran to me. And even though I thought I hated you, didn’t even know when or if I’d see you again, I knew after seeing this place that was our only fate. You. Me. And a field of wildflowers where I promise to love you until the end of time.”

A tear slipped out of my eye and trailed down my face, and Jackson tracked its course until it dripped off my chin.

I could see that day. It made sense that I’d be running towards him, because all my life, I’d always been running towards him—wanting him, loving him, needing him.

So why when he was telling me that his dream was the same as mine, did it feel a little like heartbreak instead of redemption?

“Did I scare you away?” he asked as he gently touched the wetness on my cheek.

“I’m just wondering why you’re saying the words that I’ve dreamed about probably since I met you, and yet I’m crying,” I admitted.

“This place was a sort of new beginning for me. I’d been close to spiraling permanently before I found it.” He took my hand in his and looked into my eyes earnestly. “I was hoping that this place could be a sort of new beginning for us. A starting point for a future together.”

His words were beautiful, what any girl would want to hear. But I couldn’t forget, wouldn’t forget, that all of this was happening after he’d found out the truth. What if all we were meant to be was a sad, beautiful, tragic love story that would serve as a cautionary tale for our grandchildren one day, of what could happen if love burned too bright?

There was also the fact that in a way, we were strangers. The last few years had changed me so much, and it was obvious he had changed too. But while I was by myself, trying to piece myself back together, Jackson had been welcomed with open arms into Rutherford, treated as a football god. He couldn’t relate to my journey, not in a million years.

“I’m struggling with the fact that all of this is coming after you found out the truth,” I admitted quietly, my gaze drifting to some