She met his gaze, her eyes wide, clear and honest. “I changed. Or maybe what I mean is, you changed me.”
He’d had enough talking like strangers in the hall. Reaching out, he grasped her hand and pulled her inside, shutting the door behind them. “Go on.”
Sara nodded, knowing this was her one and only chance to reach him. They may have proclaimed their intention to go into this with their eyes open, but he wasn’t as jaded as she was. Despite his father’s affair, he’d had a rosier view of marriage and relationships.
He’d had hope.
She hadn’t.
But she wanted to put those days behind her. She wanted to be more like him. “Here it is. I told myself I was happy alone, that I didn’t need or want a big family. But then I drove up to your small town and met your relatives and found a place where I really felt like I belonged.”
He listened, watching her carefully, his expression neutral and unreadable, like the trained negotiator she knew him to be. If she was going to win, she had to put all her cards on the table and hope it wasn’t too late.
“I guess I didn’t know a good thing when I had it.” Sara rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms. “What I felt for you scared me so much I pushed you into an agreement for sex. Like it meant nothing. Like you meant nothing. When, in reality, you meant everything.” She shook her head, ashamed of how she’d treated him, and when she blinked, a tear fell.
He reached out and caught it with his finger, but still he said nothing.
She gathered yet more courage and continued. “I had this negative view of marriage and relationships, and I didn’t think we had a shot at a future.”
“What changed?” he asked again.
“A wise man told me that nothing worth having comes easily. He made me realize that what we shared is worth the effort to make it work.”
He shook his head and laughed.
She knew it was despite himself.
“Who do you know that’s so smart?” he asked.
She smiled, too. “My father. You’d like him.”
“I’m sure I would. He raised you, didn’t he?” His tone had softened, and she sensed she was finally reaching him.
“Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?” She stepped forward, moving closer, hoping he didn’t turn her away. “I was wrong to think we weren’t worth the effort. You’re worth it.”
His strong hand cupped her face as he looked into her eyes. “I thought you were worth it, too, or I wouldn’t have put myself out there for you.”
“I’m still worth it,” she said, hoping he still believed that, too. Her heart pounded harder in her chest. “I’m just different than I was a few short weeks ago.”
He eyed her warily, obviously still unsure of whether he could trust her.
She held his gaze, stared at his handsome face and silently promised to rebuild that trust—and never give him a reason to regret it. “I finally realize I’ve been lying to myself about not wanting a relationship or a family. I want all those things. With you.”
And she desperately wanted him to agree.
“I want to believe you,” he said in a gruff voice.
“Then do.”
Rafe wished it were that easy. He’d put his entire being on the line for her once before. What could convince him to let down his guard again?
“I quit my job,” Sara said, taking him off guard. “Well, technically that’s not right. I wasn’t cleared to come back, but I would have quit even if I had been.”
Rafe shook his head. “Now you’ve lost me.”
She drew a deep breath. “You are looking at the first chief of police of Hidden Falls—assuming the town council amends the charter and the funding goes through. But I can’t do it alone. I want you to come with me. The town needs their own police department, and we could create and run it together.”
Rafe was floored, her words barely sinking in. “Leave the city? Move to Hidden Falls?” He stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.
Yet this crazy notion did what nothing else she’d said had accomplished so far. He finally believed she meant what she was saying. That she was coming to him, to this relationship, in it for the long haul. He leaned against the wall for support.
“Look, I know it’s sudden, but it’s well thought-out,” she said, unaware of his sudden-shifting belief. “Trust me, Rafe. I’ve already started inquiries and talks with the mayor, and the sheriff’s office. Everything’s in motion. I know you moved to the city to get away from your family, but I’m asking you to go back. With me.”
“Sara,” he began, nearly speechless over the depth of what she was offering.
But she wasn’t listening. She rambled on, obviously afraid if she let him get a word in, he’d shut her down and she’d lose everything. Little did she know, she was about to gain it all instead.
She shook her head. “Let me finish, please. I know your family can be overwhelming, but you know you love them and they need you close by. I know I’m asking a lot, but that same wise man also reminded me that marriage and relationships are about work and compromise. And heaven knows I’m working as hard as I can to show you I’ve changed. I’m trying to be an optimist. I’m looking toward a future with you.”
Rafe shook his head, needing to be sure. “Am I hearing you right?” Even when she came to him in his dreams, he’d never heard her offering him the entire world.
She nodded. “Each and every word that’s coming from my heart. The same heart I’m giving you now. But if you say no, I’ll find a new hometown to settle in so you won’t have to worry about dealing with me every time you go home.” She spread her hands, then dropped them to her side.
He couldn’t contain his smile. “Are you finished?”
She glanced at him through damp lashes. “That depends. Do you believe me?”
“I believe you, and most importantly, I believe in us. I always have.”
“I’m not too late?”
“I never stopped loving you, so how could you possibly be too late?” He held out his arms, and she stepped into his embrace.
She laid her head against his chest, and he closed his eyes, savoring the moment.
“I’ve asked a lot of you today. Are you willing to make those compromises? Or do we have to renegotiate terms?” she teased. “Because I’d go to the ends of the earth to make us work.”