Delaney James seemed to have it all-a Manhattan townhouse, a thriving career as a fashion journalist, and a handsome, high-powered husband, but when he announces he's leaving her, Delaney's picture-perfect life unravels. Heartbroken and in need of a...
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I grab the doorknob to leave, but the moment I hear the words I never thought I'd hear from him again come out of his mouth, I freeze, all reason leaving my body.
"What?" I ask.
"Yeah, not exactly the way I wanted to tell you. I actually had a whole speech prepared, but there it is."
"You...you're in love with me?"
"Of course, I am. How could you not know that?"
"I mean – I," I stutter. My heart thumps in my chest. "I hoped you did. It just...it's been so long and after everything that's happened, I didn't want to get my hopes up. A part of me was convinced you could never feel that way about me again."
The words I'm saying make sense in my head, but as I hear them come out of my mouth, I realize my mind is all over the place. I'm afraid I'm messing this up.
He chuckles to himself. "I tried, believe me, but every time I did it came back to you. It always comes back to you."
I should be thrilled to hear the man I love tell me he loves me back, but after what happened in New York with Will, I feel rattled instead.
For me, loving Greyson is the simplest thing in the world. It's like blinking or breathing. I don't have to think about it - I just do it. Being with him is like entering your house after being away and realizing your home. He's warm, and comfortable, and safe. But love is powerful. It will either piece you back together or completely tear you apart. The broken fragments of my heart have barely been put back in place, but if it's shattered again, I don't think it can be repaired a second time.
"Why?" I ask.
Deep lines crease his forehead as he furrows his brow in confusion. "What do you mean why?"
"I was with Will for seven years. He was supposed to be my partner, but it turns out he wasn't, because he only loved the idea of me. He didn't love me. I need to know why you're in love with me. The reasons."
His shoulders slump forward, and his mouth turns down in a semi-pout. He looks like a child whose mother told him he can't keep the dog he found at the park.
"Mainly because I don't have a choice, I never have, but also because..." he trails off. He shoves his fingers through his messy hair. "Because on Saturday mornings you love to watch old cartoons, but you change the channel to the news when someone comes into the room. I love you because you make self-deprecating jokes about yourself when you're nervous, and because you love animals. I watched you rescue a ladybug that you found on the back porch because you were afraid Hercules was going to eat it. I love you because you recite the dialogue to The Breakfast Club without even realizing you're doing it, and because you sing along to every song on the radio – even when you don't know the words.
"I love you because you cry every time the captain sacrifices himself in Titanic, even though you've seen the movie a million times. I love you because you'll only eat the green kind of mint chocolate chip ice cream, and because I'm pretty sure you're convinced gummi bears are good for you. I love you because you've only known Hannah for eight weeks, but you already love her like she's your own. I love you because I know whatever room I go into, if you've been there, a pair of your shoes will be lying in the middle of the floor. A normal person would get annoyed by this, but for me it means you're nearby, and that makes me feel safe. I love the way you look when you first wake up in the morning, and your face is make-up free, your hair a little messy, and I adore the sound of your laugh. If it's the last thing I hear before I die, then I'll die a happy man. I love you because you're sweet, and kind, but you're not afraid to put me in my place and keep me in line. I love you because you have the biggest, most forgiving heart of anyone I've ever met. Because of the way your eyes light up when you talk about Nico and Sloan, and because you've missed your family just as much as they've missed you, but you'll never admit it. And I love you because...well..." He shrugs. "You're my favorite person in the whole world, and it hurts, like it physically hurts me to imagine a future without you in it."
