“This.” He took her hand into his and kissed each fingertip. “This is what I feel, Faith.”
She trembled. “That’s just sex.”
He shook his head. “I can get sex from anyone, Faith. I don’t need sex, but I do need you. You.”
Her lip disappeared between her teeth. “You need me?”
“As much as the air I breathe. Quit shutting me out of your life.”
She winced, pulled her hand free from his and slid her fingers beneath her thigh protectively. “This makes no sense, Vale. I was here every day, wanting us to go back to the way we were before we went to Cape May, and you shut me out. It was you who pushed me away. You can’t go changing your mind.”
“Why not?” he asked, cupping
her face. “Why can’t I admit I made a miscalculation and pushed away the best thing that’s ever happened to me?”
“Because…because…” Her eyes closed again. “You just can’t.”
“People make mistakes, Faith. I thought if I stayed away you’d realize we were worth giving a chance. I thought you’d miss me and come to me. You didn’t, and the longer you stayed away the more frustrated I got. I took that frustration out on you. Forgive me.”
Moisture welled in her eyes, but she held fast, shaking her head. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’ll hurt me again, and I don’t think I could bear it when you did.”
“Give me a chance to prove I won’t.”
She shook her head. “There’s nothing you can do because I know you’ll hurt me. You’re you and I’m me and even under the best of circumstances couples don’t last. We don’t stand a chance.”
He sighed. “I never meant to hurt you. You must know that. You shut me out too, Faith. I was offering you something I’d never offered any woman, was wanting things with you I’d never wanted before. You weren’t the only one hurting. You’re not being rational.”
She crossed her arms across her chest, glared at him. “Nowhere is there a law written that says I have to be rational.”
“Fine, then be irrational and marry me.”
Faith’s eyes bugged out of her head.
His probably did too.
Where had his proposal come from? He hadn’t intended to ask Faith to marry him. He wanted her back in his life, but marriage? That was extreme.
But even as he thought it, if marrying Faith meant having her back in his life, proving to her he wanted her in his life long-term, he’d walk down the aisle. He enjoyed her company. She was smart, beautiful, and he craved her body.
“No.”
He gritted his teeth, staring at her in disbelief. “No?”
“No, I won’t marry you. You know how I feel about marriage. Do I need to spell it out for you?”
“Apparently,” he said dryly.
“I don’t need you or any man in my life.”
Enough was enough. He’d tired of the games, of the going back and forth. “We both know you’re in love with me, Faith. Quit clinging to your hang-ups about marriage because of your father leaving, because of your mother’s multiple weddings.”
Her eyes narrowed and her mouth dropped open in disbelief. “I’ve never told you that I loved you.”
“Haven’t you?” He called her bluff.