Page 137 of Return Policy
“Okay?” She folds her arms over her chest, purposefully pushing up her breasts because she knows it drives me crazy. “You didn’t care about the other girls getting hurt when they snuck through your window.”
I run both hands through her hair and stare down at her intently. “I didn’t love any of them.”
“What?” she says so quietly, it’s almost a whisper.
“I didn’tloveany of them.” Her lips part open, the corners of her mouth curving upwards. “You don’t have to say it back. But it’s the truth, and I won’t apologize for saying it.” My heart pounds as I take a calming breath. “I can’t go another day without telling you how much I love you, Sunflower. So don’t make me, okay?”
Sophia nods, wrapping her arms tightly around my middle, and burrows her smiling face into my chest.
“I love you, Sophia Elysabeth Summers,” I repeat, thankful I can finally speak the words freely.
“Mm-hmm,” she hums against me, and the sweet vibration is all I need to know she feels it too.
39
SOPHIA
I love you.
Those three loaded words grip my neck like firm hands crushing my windpipe. I pace the small floor of Elijah’s bathroom, trying to escape the gravitational pull from the black hole of panic.
I love you.
But he can’t love me… Love is messy, sticky, dangerous—deadly.
Seth’s betrayal may have torn me apart like a turbulent tornado… but if Elijah breaks his return policy? What’s left of me would be chucked into a wood chipper, ground up until I’m nothing but dust.
Sweat trickles down my spine as the temperature of the room increases, the walls closing in around me. I focus on a single blue tile in Elijah’s shower, struggling for air, with a hand pressed against my chest, heart pounding wildly against it.
I love you.
Does him loving me mean anything at all? I never could have imagined Seth would do what he did… Is it possible I don’t know Elijah either?
A rock settles in my stomach as I shake my head.
Of course I know him.
Elijah’s always honest with me. He safeguards my secrets, ensuring I never felt guilty for having them. He shareseverythingabout himself. I know him completely. He would never do the things Seth’s done. Regardless of the circumstance.
Gripping the cool marble countertop, I stare at the mirror and wonder what the fuck is wrong with me.
“You ready, baby?” I jump in place, hearing Elijah’s voice directly outside the door.
My panicked reflection disgusts me as I take another deep breath. Elijah isnotSeth. His love is not the same. “Be right there.”
After a few more calming breaths, I pull on leggings and a warm flannel Elijah gave me before exiting the bathroom.
His eyes scan me appreciatively as a wide smile spreads across his face. “Well, hello, cowgirl.” I force a laugh before he pulls me toward him for a toe-curling kiss, erasing any remnants of my spiral in the bathroom.Time to enjoy the present and worry about the future later.“Damn, you look sexy in my shirt.”
I bite my lower lip. “If you’re a good boy, maybe I’ll let you take it off me later.”
“Oh, really?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“What if I don’t wanna be a good boy?” He pouts, gliding his hands under the shirt’s hem, tugging me closer to him, and I let out a breathless laugh.
“Then you might have to fuck me with the shirton.”
