Out of Reach (Love Hurts 2)

“No,” I shot back. “And I’m not acting weird. I’m just tired. Long hours trying to catch up on the work I missed.” I was getting desperate now, trying to steer the conversation into an area that felt safe.

“What’s happening?” he asked, opening his beef. I sighed. It had worked. I babbled on about my column, and how they had changed ownership. My job was safe, but the freedom I’d had where I could basically work from wherever had gone. I now had a nine-to-five office job.

“Is that such a bad thing?” he asked, shrugging. “I mean, it gets you out of the house and mixing with people. After everything you’ve been through, maybe this is just what you need?”

“I guess you’re right,” I agreed. I hadn’t thought about it like that.

Maybe he was right.

After dinner, I cleared away the trash and sat down on the sofa.

“Oh, so you’re sitting next to me now?” he smirked. “I was beginning to think maybe I smelled or something.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything…” I laughed as he swatted me.

My heart began to pound as I tried to psych myself up for what I was about to do. This was a big step. Telling him I had feelings for him was huge—something there was no going back from.

“I have something I need to say,” I began. My voice trembled as it came out. Fuck, I was a mess.

“Are you okay?” His brow creased in concern.

Just say it. Tell him how you feel.

“I think I’m falling in love with you,” I blurted out.

His eyes widened as he stared at me in shock.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Emily

“What?” The look on his face was priceless.

“I thought you wanted this. Maybe I was wrong. Forget I said anything…” I turned away, trying to hide my smile.

His fingers closed over my wrist as he swung me back so I was facing him. “No, Em. You don’t get to tell me you’re falling for me and then tell me to forget it.” His voice was thick with emotion.

I gazed into his blue eyes and smiled. Why did this feel so awkward? I hadn’t done the confessions of feelings since I was seventeen. You’d think it would get easier as you aged. It didn’t. If anything, I felt more scared, more anxious than ever.

“Will you say something?” I said, unable to handle the silence any longer. The fact that I was pretty sure he felt the same did nothing to ease the mass of nerves in my stomach.

My fingers laced through his as I curved them around my back. The feel of his touch against my skin was incredible. It had been so long since I’d been intimate with anyone. Andy was the only guy I’d ever . . .

Thinking about him made me sad.

Nearly three months had passed since Andy’s death. Seth had been wonderful. He had given me space when I needed it, and support when I was falling apart—which was still often.

I’d thought losing Andy would end my world. But life went on, whether I wanted it to or not. The world didn’t stop just because I couldn’t get out of bed.

“Just because a person has gone, it doesn’t mean they won’t live on in your heart forever.”

Andy had told me that. After my parents had died, when I thought things would never get better, he’d made me realize that I had to go on. It was funny that it was his own words that were helping me now, nine years later.

“Are you sure you want this?” Seth whispered, tilting my chin until our lips met.

I nodded. Right then, I wanted it—him—more than anything. I needed him close to me.

He kissed me, his lips melting into mine as his fingers moved slowly through my hair. It was just a kiss, but it was so much more: it was a step forward. A sign, from me to Seth, that I could do this. That I would do it. For him.