She squeezed his hand. “We. I like we better.” Inhaling a breath full of renewed hope for more things than she cared to take stock of for fear of jinxing them, she said, “But what if it doesn’t work? I can’t lose you twice, Blue. That would be too hard. I need to know that if we can’t figure this out, then you’ll still want to be with me even if I continue doing the webcast, because I’m not going to stop if this doesn’t work. Otherwise—”
He tugged her in close, and she felt the beat of his heart, sure and steady, against her own. “I’m not losing you again, Lizzie. I may not like knowing half a million guys are ogling you, but that’s my issue. And it’s something I’ll work on. Make no mistake about how much I want to be with you. I adore you. This is just a test of strength, for both of us. I’ll support whatever you decide, one hundred percent.”
He pulled back, and his eyes turned serious. “What I care most about is that from here forward, there are no secrets between us. Because when you first told me, I felt like I’d been betrayed, like I was reliving Sarah Jane all over again.”
His confession stung, but she understood his feeling of betrayal and pushed past her own pain to explain. “I never meant to hurt you. I wanted to tell you, but selfishly, I wanted more time with you before I did.”
“I know, babe. Don’t you see? It really was—is—my issue, and I understand that now. Yes, you probably should have told me sooner, but either way, my pride got in the way. I’m sorry I reacted so harshly, and I know you could never be that type of person. You’re an incredibly unselfish woman who does for others at her own expense. I was a little slow on the uptake. Not only do I see things more clearly now, but I’m in awe of you and the selfless things you do.”
Lizzie dropped her eyes, feeling unworthy of such a compliment. Blue lifted her chin as he’d done so many times before, his eyes boring into her.
“I’ve honestly never met a person who does so much for others, and I’m sure I’ve only witnessed a small part of your generosity. This whole thing might have started as something you did to dig yourself out of debt, but how much of yourself have you put into this for Maddy? How much of your life have you put on hold in order to do it? That’s inspiring, regardless of what you’re wearing—or not wearing,” he said with another teasing smile.
When his lips touched hers, the defenses she’d been clinging to for so long subsided, and a powerful sense of relief swept through her. She clung to that relief, and to Blue, as they kissed their differences away and he loved the doubt right out of her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
SUN STREAKED THROUGH the curtains in Lizzie’s bedroom, casting a hint of warmth across Blue’s legs. Even with all the turmoil of the last two days, he had no doubt about his feelings for Lizzie. They were both learning, trying, and yes, it was painful and difficult. The situation between them tested everything Blue had always believed about love and loyalty. But it also made perfectly clear how deeply he loved her and that he would do anything and everything to prove to her that he was with her for the long haul.
The sadness in Lizzie’s eyes last night had destroyed him, and he’d wanted to drive straight to her parents’ house and shake some sense into her father—but Lizzie needed him more than her father needed a swift eye opener. Lizzie was the same person he’d raised—all the morals and ethics he’d taught her were soundly ingrained, which was precisely why she was doing the webcast. Hopefully her father would figure out how incredible his daughter was and come around quickly.
He turned onto his side and wrapped an arm around her, tugging her in closer.
“How’s my girl?” He kissed her cheek.
“Mm, better now.” She turned to face him. Her half-lidded eyes were sleepy and sexy, with an undercurrent of worry. “Are we okay? I mean, really okay?”
“We are.” He pressed his lips to hers. “We hit a rough patch, but we made it through.”
A sweet smile spread across her lips as the worry slipped away. “A rough patch that kinda sucked.”
“It more than sucked, but we’re not going there anymore.”
She pressed her lips to the center of his chest, sending a shock of arousal through him. “I like the sound of that.”
Her hands played over his chest, and the sensual look of seduction in her eyes awakened every inch of his body. The edges of her lips curved up as she brought her tongue to his nipple, sending heat thrumming through him.
“Mm, you like that,” she said playfully, dropping one hand between his legs and stroking his hard length. Her lips blazed a path down the center of his stomach as she clutched his hips, outlining each of the muscles on his abs with her tongue and driving him out of his mind.
“Wish I had whipped cream,” she said in a husky voice as she lifted her eyes to his.
“That can be arranged.”