Saved by Love (Willow Valley Book 3)(43)

“But that’s ridiculous, Ethan. You can’t make those choices for other people. For me. I got into this knowing exactly what I was doing. I never asked you to change a thing. And I wouldn’t want you to.”

“I know,” he said, his voice stronger now, his eyes boring into hers, urging her to understand.

Then it clicked. He’d been afraid of hurting her. And he’d been willing to give up whatever she needed him to, even though she would never have asked him to. He loved her enough to do whatever it took to protect her.

But she hadn’t been willing to trust him to do it.

“Oh, Ethan,” she said, tears dampening her eyes again, then she laughed. “You’re going to think I’m the biggest baby in the world with all the crying I’ve done lately.”

He smiled gently. “I told you before. You’re the strongest woman I know. You’ve just had more than your fair share of crap to deal with.”

She had to tell him. “Ethan, I am dealing with it. I want you to know. That’s what I came over to tell you earlier. I’ve spent the last week soul-searching more than I ever have before. I know I have issues. Big ones. But I want to deal with them. I—I want to be with you.” She dropped her eyes. “If you still want me.”

He laughed. “If I still want you? You’re joking, right?”

“Well, I hurt you. I didn’t trust you. I’m so sorry. I was selfish and only wanted to protect myself. I was scared of ending up alone. And look where that got me. Can you ever forgive me?”

“Abby, of course I forgive you. There’s nothing to forgive. You just had to figure this out on your own. It’s not like you’ve had a lot of time to get used to the idea of us. But know this—there’s not a day in my life that I won’t want you with everything within me.”

Her heart nearly swelled to bursting at his words. No one had ever said anything like that to her in her entire life.

But he wasn’t done. “I love you. More than I ever thought I could love another person. I’m here for you. Always. If you’ll let me be.”

He couldn’t have said it more perfectly. That was exactly what she hadn’t done. Let him be there for her. She didn’t have to be alone. But she also didn’t have to be scared of being alone. She’d been there, and she’d survived. But it was crazy to not take the love that was being so passionately given to her because of a bunch of what-ifs.

“I love you too, Ethan. I’ve never loved anyone more. And I’ll let you be anything you want to be for me. I want you. Always. No more fear. No regrets.”

“No regrets,” he echoed, then he kissed her. But this kiss was different; it was a kiss full of promise.





THE END


Thanks for reading Saved by Love! Keep reading and return to Sunset Bay with an excerpt from Sunset Kisses, a Sunset Bay novella that will take you back to the tropical paradise of Sunset Bay Beach Resort. You can get your free copy of Sunset Kisses at www.christinekingsley.com/yourfreebook for a limited time!



You can also check out the first chapter from my upcoming holiday novel at the end of this book.

Happy reading!





CHAPTER ONE

Alexa Roberts awoke with a start at the sound of a knock on her hotel room door.

“Just a minute,” she called, trying to get her bearings. She shook her head, still fuzzy from the night before, and headed into the bathroom. It was probably one of the bridesmaids coming to get her on the way down to breakfast.

Her sister Cara had wanted Alexa to stay in one of the suites with her other bridesmaids, but she had opted for one of the cheaper hotel rooms in an attempt to save money. Cara and her friends didn’t seem to understand the idea of sticking to a budget.

Now that her head was clearing, she looked around more carefully and blinked. This was one of the most elaborate bathrooms she had ever seen. Marble floors, a walk in shower with more nozzles than one person needed, and a bathtub raised on a platform that was large enough to bathe both of her German Shepherds at once.

Her hands flew to her mouth. This was not her hotel room. Surely this was Cara's room, or perhaps one of the other bridesmaids'. She went back into the bedroom and turned on a lamp, illuminating the extravagant decor. She tried to find an explanation, but knew this was absolutely not one of the girls' rooms. She’d been in Cara’s room, and while she knew her sister’s friends enjoyed the finer things in life, she also knew none of them could have afforded this type of luxury. Not with the cost of the weekend trip to New Orleans being only a week before their sojourn to Florida for Cara’s wedding.

The only other explanation then was… No, no, no, this cannot be happening. She had not spent the night with a stranger. She had never done anything like that before. But more terrifyingly, she couldn't remember any of it. She wracked her brain trying to come up with what had happened the night before. She remembered going to Bourbon Street with the others and hitting up a couple of bars, but she'd only had a couple of drinks, and they had been spaced a fair amount of time apart.

Alexa jumped at the sound of a low male voice. “Everything okay in there?” What was she going to do? She was trapped in this room with a virtual stranger on the other side. A stranger she had apparently spent the night with. She was going to kill Cara when she got out of this mess. Unbelievable. She couldn’t even count on her sister to watch out for her.