Worth the Risk_ A Contemporary - Megan Hart Page 0,165

mouths shut come between you."

"What are you saying?" Tom was bewildered at how his younger niece had managed to learn so much about love while he had remained clueless.

Emma made a noise of long-suffering patience. "I’m saying that if you love her, you shouldn’t let her shut you out. If she loves you, she’ll listen. If she doesn’t, then at least you’ll know. Either way, it’ll be better than hibernating in here forever."

"You harder on me than your mother ever was."

Emma shrugged. "Learned from the best, I guess."

Tom allowed a ghost of a smile to touch his lips. "Maybe I should hire a skywriter. Or take out an ad in the paper."

"Maybe. Or maybe you should just tell her you understand how she feels. Instead of trying so hard to make her believe you think she’s great, try a little harder to understand why she doesn’t." Emma grinned. "That’s what we women want, boss—someone to understand us."

"She dated a guy who made her feel ugly." Tom briefly told Emma the story of William and his "favor."

Emma groaned. "No wonder she got so upset! I’m surprised she even went out with you at all, looking the way you do."

"Can we forget about my face for a minute?"

"Sure. Short of plastic surgery, it’s not going to change anyway."

Tom sighed. "So what do I do now? If she won’t take my calls, I mean."

"You do have a certain event coming up." Emma gave him a sly glance. "It might be the perfect place to show Lila—and the world—what she means to you."

Tom shook his head. "Emma, you scare me."

"Genius always scares those who don’t understand it," Emma replied serenely, getting off the bed and going to the door.

"I’ll be taking a huge chance," he called after her.

"That’s what love is all about." Emma stopped in the doorway. "Taking chances."

"I thought you said it was about fighting."

"Who am I, Dr. Ruth?" Then she was out the door and he was left to ponder all she’d said.

Had he taken Lila’s trust in him for granted? Had he just assumed she would believe him, just because no one had ever not believed in him before? Possibly. He had never been in love before, and, as Emma had said, had never had to work for anything before. He had assumed Lila would hear his words and know the depth of his sincerity, when in reality, had he not mouthed similar phrases in the past without meaning them? True, he’d never said he’d loved anyone before, but Lila couldn’t know that.

Yes, she ought to have trusted him. But he should have made sure she had no doubts. It was up to him to make her see he couldn’t live without her. And more importantly, that Lila couldn’t live without him.

The shoebox wasn’t heavy, though it was stuffed to overflowing. Lila took it down from the depths of her closet and blew a layer of dust off the top. The cardboard was faded, the writing on it nearly illegible, but she knew what it said—Lila’s Stuff.

Not the most elegant way to describe the mementos of her romantic life, but accurate. Lila curled up on the bed and lifted the lid. The contents weren’t arranged in any sort of order, but she didn’t mind. She had no plans for the evening.

She sifted through the items in the box and matched pieces that went together. When she was done, she was left with what looked like piles of paper. What she really had was a chronology of her life as a woman.

Her first boyfriend, Brett. At seventeen, he’d been handsome and funny, a soccer player for the school team. Cocky.He’d told her he loved her while standing on the front porch of her parent’s house and risked curfew to steal a few extra kisses. He’d probably said the words to try and get her into bed. That gave her a smile. His plan had failed. She caressed the picture of the two of them at the prom. She’d worn a pink dress and ballerina slippers so she wouldn’t be taller than him.

Another prom picture. She was a year older, thinner, wearing an emerald green gown. Her second high-school love, Shawn, beamed from the photo with his arms around her waist. He’d been in the band, not an athlete, and he didn’t have Brett’s attitude. Though their breakup had been bitter, they had managed to salvage their friendship after a few years.

College photos came—a slew of photos and letters from her years