Page 30 of Second Chance for the Grump
It would be easier if he pushed. Why wouldn’t he just tell me to get my ass to Alaska?
Instead, he was doing the exact opposite.
Giving me space and trusting me to make the right choice.
I hated it.
“Maisey,” he said, lifting my chin until our gazes met. “I love you.”
My stomach jumped. “Oh.”
He’d said it so calmly, so simply, like it was just a fact that I should have already known. “Yeah, I just wanted you to know.”
“I love you, too,” I rushed to get out. If I waited too long, he’d think he’d pressured me, but I’d been dying to say the words for days now. Heck, I wanted to shout at them when I saw him on the sidewalk after he first arrived.
A smile broke out across his face.
Yeah, we both knew it.
I was going to Alaska.
Rowan leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on my forehead.
10
ROWAN
Ihad taken exactly four steps toward my truck before I realized I was an idiot. She said she loved me. I should have grabbed her off the steps and carried her with me.
My chest seemed hollow the closer I got to the car. Was I simply going to leave?
I should have been used to leaving. I’d been doing it most of my adult life.
But it hurt that now she was going to let me leave without a fight.
I just had to do what I always did—keep moving, even if I lost my heart in the process.
It shouldn’t have been a big deal, but it was. Maisey meant the fucking world to me. She was everything. The thought of leaving her again sat like a heavy rock in the pit of my stomach.
“Really, Rowan?” Maisey asked from her porch.
Every muscle in my body tightened.
“Turn around.”
I hesitated.
“Rowan,” she said, sounding exasperated this time. “The answer is yes.”
Everything inside me stopped as I turned on a heel to face her. My lips twitched, turning into a grin I couldn’t contain.
“The answer?”
She chuckled. “To that all-important question.”
“You’re sure?” My gaze held hers firmly. I needed to know that she was one hundred percent on board. I needed it.
She nodded. “I’m bringing Charlie.”
