Grayson looks uncomfortable, and I wish I had kept my mouth shut. Tonight has been . . . well, nothing short of amazing. We made love the minute we entered his house, tossing our clothes all over as he chased me into his room. Then he came into the shower where we had to wash ourselves again afterward.

It’s been heaven. It’s been everything, and I never want this to end.

Now, the sun is rising, breaking the spell of the night and forcing us back to reality.

“I bought it two months after we broke up.”

“Why?”

“Would you believe me if I said I didn’t know?”

I move toward him, giving him a soft kiss and then nestle against him. “After we broke up, and I started working for the private airline, I bought a black 2000 Ford F-150,” I confess.

“You what?”

I look up at him through my lashes, hoping it shields some of my emotions. “I . . . I needed something that was you.”

Grayson drove that truck. It was all I could do to feel like maybe, somewhere, we were both sitting in the same vehicle at the same time. It was so stupid, and I felt ridiculous, but after college, when I moved to California, I could feel a little of Carolina—a little of him.

He pushes up, leaving the bed, and goes to the window. I can feel the distance growing between us. And here is exactly what I worried about before he came over. We have issues that need to be resolved, and now it’s more complicated because we’ve crossed a line we can’t turn back from.

“Why didn’t you call?” Grayson asks.

“It would’ve changed nothing.”

“You don’t know that.”

I get to my feet, pulling the sheet and wrapping it around me. I walk over to where he stands. “At the time, it was what I believed. I was young, stupid, scared of loving you and ending up like my mother, and then there was your family. I don’t know what to say other than I regret it. I wish I could go back and be brave enough to tell you how I felt and give you the opportunity to tell me how you felt. All I can do is be honest with you now.”

He cups my cheek, leaning down so we’re breathing each other in. “And what’s honest?”

“That I have always loved you. That I don’t know what this means for us going forward, but I know that I don’t want it to stop.”

Grayson’s forehead rests against mine as his arms wrap around me, holding me close. “I don’t want it to stop either. Even if it means I watch you walk away again.”

“I don’t want to think about leaving.”

“Think about staying, Jess. Think about what we could have.”