Page 115 of Set It Right
And the fact that she wasn’t immediately saying yes and leaping into my arms landed like a dull blade between my ribs. I’d prepared myself to fight for us. I hadn’t prepared myself for the possibility I might be fighting alone.
I had to tread carefully. One wrong word, and I might push her further away.
Keeping my voice steady, I said, “A long time ago, I waited for the perfect opportunity to share my feelings, and it never came. I’ve lived with that regret ever since.”
“Cormac—”
I shook my head. “No, let me get this out. I have to say a few things first.”
She rolled her lips over her teeth and nodded slowly.
“Here’s the thing, Zara: I want to build a real life with you. We could start out doing long distance. I’d rather settle for that than nothing at all, but it isn’t what I want, and I need to say that. If I don’t tell you I want you here with me, I’ll regret it, and I’ve already got a mountain-high stack of regrets when it comes to you and me. I won’t add anymore.”
Her fingers closed around mine, tighter with each word, but she didn’t try to speak. She listened with intent, her breath bated, her back ramrod straight. If she’d given me a hint of pulling away, I might’ve lost my nerve. But she was giving me the opposite, so I laid it all out.
“I know you had a job interview this morning, but I don’t want you to take it. Going back there, slotting yourself into your old role won’t make you happy. I’ve watched you bloom this summer. Every hour you’ve spent outside, doing what you love, has made your smile get wider and brought back the glow I’ve always loved about you.”
My throat worked around the boulder lodged in the center of it, and my eyes burned hot, but I managed to keep going.
“You’re going to miss your family, but we’ll find a way to see them as much as we can. I’ll make sure of it. And my family will wrap their arms around you and hold you when my arms aren’t enough.”
She couldn’t hold back a response. “Your arms are always enough.”
I exhaled, dropping my forehead to our joined hands. “Javier told me about the job. He offered you a reason to stay. A real reason, and I have no clue if you want to take it. You’re not letting me in—”
Fear cracked through my voice before I could stop it.
“Oh no, Maccie.” She scrambled to her knees beside me, cupping the side of my face. “No, I wasn’t trying to hide it fromyou. I had to think about it on my own before I brought it up. It’s a lot. A big decision. I needed to wrap my head around it. I don’t want you to think I’m not letting you in. That isn’t why I didn’t say anything.”
I rubbed my jaw against her hand, warm and soft. “Please stay. I’ll give you a good life. I swear I will. Stay and let me love you like I’ve always needed to. Stay, andplease…just love me back.”
“I do love you back.” She climbed onto my legs, taking my face in both hands. “Cormac, Iloveyou. Please look at me. Look at what I’m wearing.”
That got me to open my eyes. I scanned her tangled hair, loose T-shirt, and nothing else. My heart thumped, but it confused me. What was I supposed to be seeing other than the most beautiful woman in the world?
“I see you.”
She pecked my nose. “Think, Maccie. Do I look like I’m all dressed up for a video call?”
It hit me like lightning.
My head jerked. “I sure hope no one else saw you this way.”
“No one did. I canceled the interview, but since I had the morning off, I was being lazy about getting dressed.”
“I love seeing you in my shirt.”
She gave me a pleased little smile. “To tell the truth, I love that I’m in the position where I get to steal your clothes. It makes me giddy.”
She had no idea how it mademefeel to see my clothes draping her body. It wasn’t just proprietary. Clothing the woman I loved settled some ancient, caveman instinct inside me—an instinct that only came to life around Zara.
“You really canceled the interview?” I wasn’t going to allow myself to hope. Not yet. She needed to say the words.
“Yeah. Zane and I talked last night, and he had a lot of things to say.”
I gripped her thighs, holding back my impatience. I’d waited this long. What was a few more minutes?
“Like what?”
