Page 127 of Be With Me
“Jenny knows.”
Son of a bitch.My grip on her tightened. “How?”
“She recognized your coat from when you were at my place. Confronted me after we left the restaurant.”
Fuck.My coat? I should have known better than to wear the same one I had with me the night of the ball.
“She told me I have to stop seeing you…or she’ll tell my dad.”
My whole fucking body tightened with the knowledge of what was coming next. It was like watching a car crash happening in real time. There was no way to stop it. She was going to tell me we were done.
She stared at me, her eyes shimmering. “Rom, I?—“
“It was always meant to be temporary,” I cut in.
Coward.
If I said it first, I could pretend it wasn’t ripping me open.
A notch appeared between her brows. “That’s not where I was going. I’ve been thinking and…” Defiance and a hint of desperation crossed her face as she flattened her palms over my lapels. “Tell me the truth, Rom.”
“What truth?”
“How do you really feel about me?”
I bit on the inside of my cheek. This was even worse. She was calling my bluff.
How do I feel about her?
I’d spent years tryingnotto feel, only for her to barge into my life and crack the floodgates open. I felt too fucking much when it came to her. And if she knew what she meant to me, she’d have power over me.
It made me feel fucking vulnerable. I hated it.
And yet the answer was right there, clawing at my throat, desperate to be freed.
“Mia…” I drifted off, indecision shredding through my lungs.
She let out a breath. “If we’re honest with each other, maybe we can figure this out.” Her forehead pressed to my chest, and her voice was quieter now. “Iwantto figure this out.”
I cupped the back of her head with my palm and stared at the ceiling.
Would she still want to figure it out if she knew about the skeletons I hid in my closet? There were so many things she didn’t know about me. So many things that would eventually make her pull back.
Going further down this path would only make it hurt worse—for both of us—when it happened.
She took a step back. “I’ll give you a moment to think on it. I’m going to use the bathroom. Get me a drink.” A soft smile. “Something you think I’d like.” She squeezed my hand and disappeared around the corner.
I waved the bartender over and ordered her a berry-infused gin and tonic, my mind racing a mile a minute.
What I wanted with her was a fantasy strung together by wishful thinking and delusions. But Mia saw the world differently than me—full of goodness. Full of possibility. Full of fucking hope.
It was so tempting to see it her way, to let myself get carried away with it.
My fingertips traced the edge of a coaster.
The truth.
The truth was that I fucking loved her.
