Page 96 of Rejected Heart
“I used to feel that happy,” I said quietly. “When you were with me, I was always that happy.”
“And how do you feel now when you see me? Because, if I’m honest, I wasn’t sure I should come here today.”
I stared at her for a long time, wondering if I would be making a huge mistake in telling her precisely how I felt when I saw her. Part of me felt like I kept spilling my guts to her, sharing every piece of my heart, only to have her stomp on it over and over. If I did that now, knowing how she might respond, maybe I deserved to feel as miserable as I had. But I would rather live every day knowing that I never held back how I really felt about her. I’d tell the truth until the day I died, even if it was never reciprocated.
“Despite the fact that I often experience hurt and bitterness and heartbreak and anger over the way you ended us, I’ve never looked at you and not wanted you. I’ve never looked at you and felt anything less than tremendous love. Beneath all the damage, I’m still the guy who would give up everything to be with you.”
Tears filled Layla’s eyes, and she dropped her gaze to her lap as she took a few deep breaths. When she got a hold of her emotions, she returned her attention to me and shared, “Cooper came to my mom’s store a week ago.”
My body tensed, and I sat up a little straighter inresponse. Layla had mentioned that Cooper invited her, but I hadn’t expected he’d actively sought her out to do it. “What happened?”
Smiling, her eyes shining with the tears, she answered, “He told me I needed to do something.”
“What?”
“He said that if I loved you, if I truly loved you, I needed to do something to make sure you knew it. I explained to him that I had used those words and told you that, but he insisted that you didn’t believe them.”
I found myself getting upset on Layla’s behalf. “Layla, I’m sorry. Cooper didn’t have a right to say any of that to you.”
She reached her hand out and covered mine. The soft touch of her fingers on my skin sent jolts of electricity shooting down my arm. “I’m glad he did. He got me to see things that I’d been blind to. But I won’t lie and say that I wasn’t the least bit terrified to show up here. I truly didn’t think you ever wanted to see me again.”
I covered her hand with my opposite one, needing to keep hers where it was. Something inside me told me if I didn’t, she’d take that away from me, too. “What makes you think that I didn’t want to see you?”
She stared down at our connected hands, her eyes wet and dull. “After I told you the truth about why I turned down your proposal and left you, you seemed upset. And I understood that. I believe you were justified in feeling a multitude of emotions over it. But you seemed to just accept it, like that was our fate, before you asked me to have one last meal with you before you took mehome. You never reached out again, so I assumed you’d merely been looking for answers and closure.”
My thumb stroked absentmindedly along the back of her hand. “It had nothing to do with that. In fact, I’d been hoping that after we spoke that night, we’d manage to find a way to reconcile.”
Her brows knit together. “I don’t understand. You didn’t say anything to indicate that.”
“Would it have mattered if I did?” I countered, my own brows furrowed.
Those beautiful eyes stared hopefully into mine, Layla’s chin trembling. “I guess I can’t say for sure what would have happened, but I’d like to think we could have worked to find a way back to one another.”
I was going to be sick.
A month.
Sure, it didn’t seem like a long time, but after eight years without her, every additional day being apart felt like an eternity. Now, she was sitting here telling me we could have had a chance to fix this weeks ago.
“Please tell me you’re lying,” I begged.
She jerked her head back. “You don’t want that?”
“It’s not that. I do. I’ve wanted that since the moment you left.” Sorrow leaked onto her features. “But I don’t feel like you’re being honest. You told me that you wouldn’t have ever come back to Landing if it hadn’t been for your mom’s accident. That’s why I gave up hope. You’d left me at the hotel the night before without saying a word, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that I showed up at your mom’s house the next day, I think it’s clear youwouldn’t have come back looking for me. I had to find a way to protect myself, Layla.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed roughly. “I’m so sorry, Liam. I know I’ve said that a lot, but I really do mean it. And I think I should clarify that when I said I wouldn’t have come back if it hadn’t been for my mom’s accident, it had nothing to do with not wanting you. I’ve never stopped wanting you.”
While I did believe she was genuinely apologetic, I hadn’t expected to hear she hadn’t stopped wanting me. “And now you’re here because Cooper told you that if you loved me, you needed to do something.”
She tipped her chin down. “Yes.”
My heart was racing, my insides trembling. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, only to be crushed again.
“So, what now?”
I had to put this in her hands. I couldn’t make assumptions about what her presence here meant. I’d assumed I knew how she’d been feeling twice already, and I couldn’t do it again.
“I can’t speak for you or what you want?—”
