Page 88 of Barron's Second Chance
"And after you left last night, I did something I never thought I would do." She gestured to her memory box. "I opened that. And instead of anger and pain, I only thought about the memories attached to them. I'm not saying I'm over what happened or that I trust you again. But," she emphasized, "something is obviously drawing me back to you. The attraction is still there; I can't deny that. So for that reason, I am willing to start maybe seeing each other again."
Barron was busy trying not to get his hopes up and trying to concentrate on what Eden was saying to him that, for a moment, what she said didn't register.
"Wait, what?" He shook his head as if he was doing a double take. "What?" He knew he sounded like an idiot, but he needed a moment to process.
Eden released her hands from his and held them up as if to stop him mid-speech.
"I'm not making any promises," she stressed. "but I would be open to dating a bit. See if something's still there."
"What?" Jesus, he really needed to get it together.
Luckily, Eden saw the humor in stupefying him. "Ya know, Carter, three months of being hounded by you, I must say your reaction is rather anti-climactic," she teased.
"Sorry," he rubbed his hand down his face. The dull ache of disappointment that had been brewing finally faded. It was as if the warm, glaring sun had pushed through a gloomy day, bathing him in its rays.
"Fuck, baby, I really thought this conversation was going to go a different way."
His smile was brilliant as he gazed down at her, his love for her burning through his body.
"You mean it? You wanna try again?"
"Well, Barron, I want to be clear. I'm not making any promises. I don't want any labels or commitments. I'm not there with you yet, and even after all this, I can't promise that my feelings will become any more serious. It could just be nostalgia that I'm feeling, and we could come out of this as good friends instead."
Barron almost snorted in disbelief over that statement. He didn't need to touch Eden to feel the electric buzz of attraction and passion that rippled in the air between them. They could relay every thought and emotion between them with just a look. That kiss they shared a few weeks ago could sustain him for a lifetime. And she thought they would come out of this asfriends?Yeah, fuck that noise.
He tapped down the initial disappointment he felt that she wasn't willing to at least put a label on them. It also sounded like she already had one foot out the door and had an exit plan in place. But he got it. He did. She was understandably wary, and it was up to him to prove to her that he was willing to do whatever it took to get her to believe in him again. In them.
"Baby," he reached up and gently pushed her curtain of hair behind in ear. "this is more than I ever expected. Fuck, I hoped, but I never thought I would get this far with you. Absolutely we can set this at your pace. Please let me know if I do or say anything you're uncomfortable with. If you want to call me just to vent about what a fuck up I was in the past, then feel free to. I'll be here with you, always. I meant everything I said last night, E. However long it takes; I'll be here. I'll put in the groundwork to rebuild what we lost."
He watched as Eden visibly swallowed. He could see hoards of emotion flicker through her gaze. Hope. Distrust. Unease. Desire.
"The timing is a little off, though," she started to say. "I have a busy couple of months coming up. When I leave on Saturday, I'm going to be nonstop. Fashion Week's exhausting, and not just the event itself. I have a ton of fittings and rehearsals to do, and then I have Milan practically straight after-"
"Eden, baby," Barron halted her spiel by cupping her soft cheek. Eden's mouth snapped shut, and he saw her hand flex ever so slightly as if, by instinct, she wanted to reach up and cover his hand with hers.
"It's okay. I know your time is going to be limited once you leave. I read into Fashion Week, so I know how important and time-consuming it is. I'm fully prepared to receive scraps of your time while you're working."
Eden gave him a shy but pleased smile. "You read into Fashion Week?"
"Damn right, I did. I know how important your career is and how dedicated you are to it. I want to learn as much as I can about it." He gave a self-conscious shrug as his cheeks heated. "It makes me feel closer to you."
He didn't want to confess how muchresearchhe did into Eden's industry or that his research occurred long before he reconnected with her.
"You just concentrate on doing what you need to do. I'll make sure we're connected during that time, and when you get back from Milan, we'll go on from there. But can I ask a favor, baby?"
Her brow adorably furrowed. "Sure," she hesitantly said.
"I know you don't want labels, that you want to keep it casual, and that's absolutely fine." It clenched his gut, but he'd take what he could get. "I know I have no right to ask this, but while we're dating, can we only be exclusive to each other?"
Eden frowned, and a sense of unease churned inside of him. He didn't know what he would do if she wanted to see other people as well. He just needed to figure out howcasualshe wanted their dating to be.
"Well,Iwasn't planning on seeing anyone else," Eden said slowly.
Shit!
"Fuck, baby, I'm not either. I don't want anyone else but you. I'm aware that this is my second chance. My one shot to prove that we belong together. I want to know that you're all in with me, that you'll be open to my awkward attempts at winning you back."
"I'll promise to keep an open mind and be honest with you," Eden agreed. She sighed and gave a short bark of laughter.
