She squeezes her eyes shut again and takes a deep breath. She opens her lids, raises her chin, and firmly states, "You never would've asked me out. I wasn't the type of woman you were attracted to."

"I've always been attracted to you. And the fact you aren't like anyone else is exactly why I fell in love with you," I declare.

She freezes.

I lower my voice. "I do love you. And once I got to know you better, I would've asked you out."

She drills her gaze into mine, "Sebastian—"

"I'm in love with you, Georgia. I was stupid and wrong. I should have told Huck on the phone I didn't care about the loophole anymore. I just wanted to get off the phone that night. He's my attorney. He would have tried to talk me out of it. I didn't want to deal with it and that's the truth. I'm sorry you heard that. I'm sorry that I hurt you."

She cries out, "You didn't just hurt me. You broke my heart."

Silence fills the air.

She jerks her head toward the door.

I've never felt so bad in my life. Hurting her is the worst thing I've ever done. I take a deep breath and add, "I'm sorry I broke your heart. I didn't mean to. My heart's broken too, and if you forgive me—"

"I have forgiven you," she claims quietly.

Hope fills me. "Then let's move forward."

She glances at the ceiling, then pins her gaze on me, declaring, "I'm sorry, Sebastian. I can't. Forgiveness doesn't mean you repeat the same mistakes." Tears flow down her cheeks.

My heart sinks. I beg, "We aren't a mistake. We—"

"Please don't keep trying to win me over. It's just hurting me more," she interjects.

Once again, my life's crashing around me.

Is there really nothing I can do?

The look on her face tells me nothing will make her change her mind. I've never felt so defeated.

She pleads, "Please. I'm tired of hurting."

I don't want to hurt her anymore, so I agree. "Okay, I'll stop." The moment the words come out of my mouth, I regret them. But now that I've promised her, I need to uphold my word.

"Thank you," she says, then steps away from me. She gazes around the bakery, adding, "This is too much though, Sebastian."

"No, it's not. You deserve it. And I know this is just the start of whatever you want to accomplish," I insist.

She stares at me for a while, then adds, "I don't know what to say besides thank you. It feels like it's not enough though."

"It is," I confirm.

Another moment of silence passes and she suggests, "We should get going."

More disappointment fills me. I walk her back to the truck, and we don't say anything on the way home. All my words are jumbled in my head and seem like the wrong thing to say.