shook his head, unable to keep the smile from his face. “I need to say a few things. I need you to hear me.”
She drew a breath and let it out, then sat back on his lap. “All right. I’m listening.”
“You said that you’ve . . .” He felt his cheeks heat, and his eyes narrowed because she was grinning at him like the spitfire she was. “What?” he demanded.
She swept her thumbs over his cheeks. “You’re blushing. It’s sweet.”
He rolled his eyes. “I am not sweet.”
“Oh, okay. You are mean.” She folded her hands in her lap, demurely waiting. Except for her eyes, which danced with an amusement that he hadn’t seen in a very long time.
I love you. He startled, not sure when “wanting her” and “longing for her” had become “loving her.” But the words were true. He knew it as well as he knew his own name. But he held the three words back. Not yet. He needed to say other things first. Important things.
“You said that you’ve loved me since you were seventeen.”
She abruptly sobered, his intent finally seeming to register. “I did.”
“I . . .”
She smiled ruefully. “You don’t have to say it, Tom. I’d rather you wait until you know it’s true than just say words back to me.”
“But that’s just it. I have loved you that long.”
Her smile dropped away, her expression instantly wary. “But?”
“It wasn’t like yours. Not then. Then, when I was twenty and you were seventeen, I knew I liked you. I knew I felt something for you.” He huffed an awkward laugh. “I wanted you?”
A new smile bloomed. Sheer delight. “You did? Back then?”
“I did. But you were seventeen and you were grieving and I would never have taken advantage of you that way.”
She traced his lower lip with her fingertip. “I know. But I have to say that knowing you wanted to is an ego boost.”
He winced. “I never meant to make you feel . . . less.”
“I know that, too.” She drew a deep breath and braced her shoulders. “And then?”
“Then you joined the army and I was pissed off.”
“I remember that.”
“You were eighteen and I’d planned something . . .” He felt himself blushing again, his embarrassment made worse by the way she was watching him with wide eyes.
“Something?” she prompted. “Something . . . sexual?”
“God,” he groaned. “Yes. I figured you were eighteen and I was still twenty and that I wasn’t going to be a pervert if I made a move. But then you said you were going away. That you’d already signed up. You didn’t tell me you were planning to do that.”
That final sentence came out more accusingly than he’d wanted it to. She winced now. “I’m sorry. If I’d known . . .”
“Yeah, well,” he grumbled. “I figured that you wouldn’t have done that if you’d felt anything, so I stowed it. Told myself we were friends. That you were like my sister.”
She looked horrified. “Shit.”
He laughed. “I never managed to convince myself of the sister part.”
“That’s good, at least. But the friend part stuck, huh?”
“It did. When you’d come home on leave, it was hard. I was hard,” he said ruefully. “I’d have to leave the room and go off by myself and say, ‘Just a friend,’ over and over until I was ready to come back out and be . . . well, presentable.”
She grinned again, her gaze dropping to his groin, where he was still hard as a rock and raring to go. “Oh? And did those moments alone involve anything else? Like . . . y’know, relief? And are you almost done talking?”
“Behave, brat.” He shook his head, but fondly. “When I was closer to twenty, yes, those little getaways sometimes involved me getting relief. As I got older, I got better at keeping you compartmentalized in the ‘friend’ box in my brain.”
She was serious again. “You’re good at compartmentalizing your emotions,” she murmured. “That’s how you survived an abusive father. I get that.”
For a moment he could only stare. Then he chided himself for being so surprised. She’d always known him better than anyone else. “I think you’re right.”
“The distance didn’t help. You graduated and got drafted to Boston and I was deployed.”
“I worried about you all the time,” he confessed. “Those Skype calls were some of the only times I thought I could breathe.”
“And the other times?”
“When I was on the basketball court. In front of a crowd. Then everything else went away. But
Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 1 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 2 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 3 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 4 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 5 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 6 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 7 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 8 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 9 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 10 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 11 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 12 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 13 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 14 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 15 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 16 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 17 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 18 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 19 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 20 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 21 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 22 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 23 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 24 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 25 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 26 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 27 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 28 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 29 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 30 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 31 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 32 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 33 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 34 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 35 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 36 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 37 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 38 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 39 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 40 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 41 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 42 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 43 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 44 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 45 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 46 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 47 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 48 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 49 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 50 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 51 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 52 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 53 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 54 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 55 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 56 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 57 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 58 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 59 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 60 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 61 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 62 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 63 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 64 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 65 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 66 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 67 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 68 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 69 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 70 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 71 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 72 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 73 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 74 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 75 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 76 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 77 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 78 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 79 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 80 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 81 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 82 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 83 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 84 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 85 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 86 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 87 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 88 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 89 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 90 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 91 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 92 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 93 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 94 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 95 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 96 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 97 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 98 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 99 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 100 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 101 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 102 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 103 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 104 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 105 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 106 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 107 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 108 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 109 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 110 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 111 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 112 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 113 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 114 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 115 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 116 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 117 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 118 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 119 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 120 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 121 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 122 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 123 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 124 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 125 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 126 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 127 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 128 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 129 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 130 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 131 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 132 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 133 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 134 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 135 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 136 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 137 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 138 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 139 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 140 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 141 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 142 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 143 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 144 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 145 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 146 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 147 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 148 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 149 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 150 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 151 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 152 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 153 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 154 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 155 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 156 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 157 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 158 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 159 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 160 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 161 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 162 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 163 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 164 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 165 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 166 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 167 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 168 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 169 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 170 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 171 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 172 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 173 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 174 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 175 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 176 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 177 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 178 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 179 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 180 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 181 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 182 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 183 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 184 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 185 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 186 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 187 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 188 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 189 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 190 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 191 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 192 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 193 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 194 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 195 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 196 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 197 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 198 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 199 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 200 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 201 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 202 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 203 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 204 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 205 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 206 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 207 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 208 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 209 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 210 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 211 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 212 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 213 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 214 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 215 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 216 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 217 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 218 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 219 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 220 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 221 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 222 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 223 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 224 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 225 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 226 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 227 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 228 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 229 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 230 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 231 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 232 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 233 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 234 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 235 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 236 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 237 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 238 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 239 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 240 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 241 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 242 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 243 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 244 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 245 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 246 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 247 Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) - Karen Rose - Page 248