Page 36 of Now and Then

Only Sutton could take an innocent situation and overthink it to death, making horrible assumptions instead of talking to me. Most people in town who see me out with a woman do the same. I get it. From the outside looking in, it might appear like I’ve dated a lot. Sure, I’ve dated. But none of it stuck. None of it felt right.

Because it wasn’t Sutton.

“I have dated a lot,” I say, “but that’s only because I’ve been waiting—”

Her hand suddenly whips out, and she presses her finger over my lips. “Don’t.”

I shake my head. We’ve done this for far too long, letting too many things—wrong timing, mixed signals, misunderstandings, and fear—get in the way. If she’s finally ready to date again, I’ll be damned if she doesn’t know where I stand.

“I date a lot because I’ve been waiting for you,” I mumble around her finger.

She drops her forehead to my chest at the same time her hand falls to her side. “Why did you have to tell me that?”

“Sutton.” I smooth my hand down her arm and wrap it around her wrist. She’s taken off her multitude of bracelets, and I relish her skin’s softness. “I know you’ve been through hell. I know that you’re scared. I know you locked your heart away to protect it.”

She presses her forehead into the center of my chest and pulls back to look at me. Her eyes plead with me not to verbalize these feelings, to leave them in the space of unspoken truths and promises between us.

But I can’t.

Not anymore.

“You have to know . . .” I breathe deeply, cupping the sides of her cheeks. My body softens, every ounce of hesitation exiting with each second that passes. “You have to know that if you’re finally ready to give someone the key to your heart, I was always going to be the first in line.”

“Hunter.” She leans her cheek into my right palm, and her eyes fall shut. “This is not what I was expecting when you showed up here.”

“Me either, but here we are.”

“I’m not sure if I’m ready. I know that sounds insane. It’s been six years since Brandon and everything else, but I’m scared to open myself back up to that kind of pain again. I opened my heart to so many things, and what happened?” Her face softens in quiet contemplation. “It all crumbled.”

There’s no denying that her world fell apart all those years ago. And ever since, she’s clung to what’s familiar—controlling every aspect of her life and keeping people at arm’s length.

“What if,” she says, opening her eyes. “What if we try this and everything falls apart? Not only would I lose the love of my life, but I’d lose my best friend.”

My heart thunders at her choice of words.

“How can you be talking about losing anything when we haven’t even started yet?” I lift my eyebrows. “I get it, Sut. But what if this could be the best thing that’s ever happened to you? To me? What if it doesn’t fall apart? What if instead of losing anything we finally get what we’ve both been praying for?”

She matches my smile.

“Sutton, I can’t remember a time when I haven’t had feelings for you. If you don’t have feelings for me, then just tell me. It’ll hurt like hell but at least I’ll know.”

“You know I have feelings for you.” Tears line her eyes. “I’ve never been good at hiding them.”

“No more trying to hide them, okay?”

She nods.

“I’ve spent too many years not telling you how I feel. I can’t do it anymore.” I swipe my thumbs under her eyes, catching a single tear. “Just think about trying to be an us, okay?”

“Okay.” She nods again, releasing another thread.

I breathe out slowly, like I’ve been holding it for years.

“So . . . about this remodel,” I say quietly. “You’re officially saying yes to doing it, right?”

Sutton pulls away from me. “You really want me to work on your house?”

“There’s no one else I trust to get it right but you.”