head said.
Yes, it would. And it broke her heart again that she couldn’t share it all with him.
“Denver,” he repeated as if sure he’d heard her wrong.
She chewed her bottom lip while he processed that.
“You’re saving up money to move to Denver ,” he asked, his voice rising slightly.
“Yeah.”
“Denver,” he said again. “As in the city I just came back from?”
“Yes.”
“Is that a coincidence, Tess?” he asked, his voice firm. “Tell me that you threw a fucking dart at a map and came up with Denver.”
Well, at least he was over the swearing-in-front-of-her thing.
It wasn’t exactly a coincidence. Jake Elliot lived in Denver, and she knew about Jake because of Bryan. “I have to admit that I became obsessed with the mountains because of you. I’ve wanted to go for a long time.” There, that was true. And it didn’t tell him things he didn’t need to know.
No one needed to know about her running. With her not-so-secret crush on Bryan, everyone would assume it was because of him. She did not want that. Because she didn’t have time to explain the complicated reality of how it kind of was because of him, but mostly wasn’t. And no one would believe that anyway. Least of all Bryan himself. She’d humiliated herself more than enough in front of and because of him.
She was proud of what she’d accomplished with her running. And she didn’t want people to think it was about anything other than her hard work. She didn’t need praise or accolades. She knew what it was about. That’s all that mattered.
Bryan stared at her for several heartbeats. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he finally said. He moved swiftly, coming forward and sitting down on the coffee table right in front of her. “You were going to Denver for me, right, Tess?” he asked gruffly. “You were done waiting and you were going to make a move since I wasn’t?”
She started to answer, but he wasn’t done.
“That’s amazing.” He reached out and cupped her face. “You’re amazing. You’ve loved me all these years. You’ve made me feel like a rock star even when I was feeling like a joke. And then when I woke up in the hospital, and I realized my life was about to change forever, the one bright spot was you. I knew I was coming home, and knowing you were here made it something to look forward to. I didn’t worry about what I was giving up. Only what I was moving toward.”
Holy… crap. Tess stared at him. What was that ? What was she supposed to say to all of that? And of course, he was assuming it was all about him. That was partly her fault, she supposed. But she’d been over him for more than two years. She hadn’t given him any indication that she was still all wrapped up in him, dreaming about him, waiting for him since he’d been back. For over a year , without saying a word about wanting her.
“Are you fucking kidding me? ” she asked him.
That was clearly not the reaction he’d been expecting. “What?”
“You’ve been home for a year and seven months , Bryan. And you’re telling me this now ?”
It wouldn’t have mattered. She would have still wanted to go to Denver to train even if he’d said this a year ago. But what the hell had taken him so long?
“I wasn’t…ready. I was still doing rehab and trying to get settled, to show you I was serious about staying. Then I got hurt again.”
He had kept her waiting because he was trying to prove to her that he was serious about staying ? Tess couldn’t believe this. Or how much she wanted more vodka.
“That’s stupid,” she told him.
“No. Listen, we’re talking about forever here. I knew you weren’t a girl to mess around with. But now I’m ready. No messing around. For good. For real.”
She looked into the green eyes that she had lived to see in the hallways at school every day of her junior high and high school career. Dammit.
“I’m going to Denver, Bryan,” she told him. “I…have to.”
“Why?
Yes, it would. And it broke her heart again that she couldn’t share it all with him.
“Denver,” he repeated as if sure he’d heard her wrong.
She chewed her bottom lip while he processed that.
“You’re saving up money to move to Denver ,” he asked, his voice rising slightly.
“Yeah.”
“Denver,” he said again. “As in the city I just came back from?”
“Yes.”
“Is that a coincidence, Tess?” he asked, his voice firm. “Tell me that you threw a fucking dart at a map and came up with Denver.”
Well, at least he was over the swearing-in-front-of-her thing.
It wasn’t exactly a coincidence. Jake Elliot lived in Denver, and she knew about Jake because of Bryan. “I have to admit that I became obsessed with the mountains because of you. I’ve wanted to go for a long time.” There, that was true. And it didn’t tell him things he didn’t need to know.
No one needed to know about her running. With her not-so-secret crush on Bryan, everyone would assume it was because of him. She did not want that. Because she didn’t have time to explain the complicated reality of how it kind of was because of him, but mostly wasn’t. And no one would believe that anyway. Least of all Bryan himself. She’d humiliated herself more than enough in front of and because of him.
She was proud of what she’d accomplished with her running. And she didn’t want people to think it was about anything other than her hard work. She didn’t need praise or accolades. She knew what it was about. That’s all that mattered.
Bryan stared at her for several heartbeats. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he finally said. He moved swiftly, coming forward and sitting down on the coffee table right in front of her. “You were going to Denver for me, right, Tess?” he asked gruffly. “You were done waiting and you were going to make a move since I wasn’t?”
She started to answer, but he wasn’t done.
“That’s amazing.” He reached out and cupped her face. “You’re amazing. You’ve loved me all these years. You’ve made me feel like a rock star even when I was feeling like a joke. And then when I woke up in the hospital, and I realized my life was about to change forever, the one bright spot was you. I knew I was coming home, and knowing you were here made it something to look forward to. I didn’t worry about what I was giving up. Only what I was moving toward.”
Holy… crap. Tess stared at him. What was that ? What was she supposed to say to all of that? And of course, he was assuming it was all about him. That was partly her fault, she supposed. But she’d been over him for more than two years. She hadn’t given him any indication that she was still all wrapped up in him, dreaming about him, waiting for him since he’d been back. For over a year , without saying a word about wanting her.
“Are you fucking kidding me? ” she asked him.
That was clearly not the reaction he’d been expecting. “What?”
“You’ve been home for a year and seven months , Bryan. And you’re telling me this now ?”
It wouldn’t have mattered. She would have still wanted to go to Denver to train even if he’d said this a year ago. But what the hell had taken him so long?
“I wasn’t…ready. I was still doing rehab and trying to get settled, to show you I was serious about staying. Then I got hurt again.”
He had kept her waiting because he was trying to prove to her that he was serious about staying ? Tess couldn’t believe this. Or how much she wanted more vodka.
“That’s stupid,” she told him.
“No. Listen, we’re talking about forever here. I knew you weren’t a girl to mess around with. But now I’m ready. No messing around. For good. For real.”
She looked into the green eyes that she had lived to see in the hallways at school every day of her junior high and high school career. Dammit.
“I’m going to Denver, Bryan,” she told him. “I…have to.”
“Why?
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