Chapter Thirty-Six
Emma
Emma’s heart raced as she slowly opened her eyes to find Bryce’s intense gaze fixed on her. The tenderness of his kiss had
completely destroyed her defenses, leaving her raw and vulnerable.
She struggled to form coherent thoughts, overwhelmed by the rush of emotions coursing through her. Part of her wanted to pull
him close again, to lose herself in the comfort and passion of his embrace. But another part—the cautious, guarded part that
knew better—whispered urgent warnings.
“Bryce,” she began, her voice barely above a whisper. But what could she say? That the kiss had shaken her to her core? That
she didn’t deserve this kind of happiness?
Instead, Emma took a shaky breath, trying to steady herself.
“You matter to me, Emma. You always have.” His voice was low, gruff and slid down her spine like he had traced each vertebrae
with his fingers.
She found herself lost in his eyes, seeing an emotion there that both thrilled and terrified her. “I don’t know what to say.”
No. She didn’t deserve to have someone good and honorable like Bryce kiss her with such tenderness. The weight of her past
pressed down on her. Running away, the hard life she’d lived, having a baby at barely twenty-one with no dad in the picture.
All the people she had hurt along the way.
Bryce deserved someone good and true. Someone whole. Not her.
Summoning every ounce of willpower, Emma pushed him away. “I should get back to work.”
The raw emotion in Bryce’s eyes pierced her heart. “We need to talk about this.”
“No. We really don’t.”
“You can’t keep running away from me. I have feelings for you. I had a crush on you when we were kids, and since you’ve been
back, that crush has become something much more.”
Emma wanted to plug her ears like a child and flee the room. She had spent so long hurting other people. She couldn’t bear
to hurt Bryce, too. But she knew pushing him away was best for him in the long run, even if it was killing her inside.
She forced herself to think of all the reasons they couldn’t be together. He deserved a woman unburdened by the pain and trauma
she’d endured. She couldn’t saddle him with all her baggage.
She also couldn’t step into any role at Lucas Construction that might push him out or take away an opportunity from him. He
had earned it. He deserved it. She had done nothing but be born a Lucas.
She would continue working here at the bookshop for now and then figure something else out. It was the only thing she could
do.
“It is true that I’m attracted to you. You grew up into all . . . this.” She gestured at him, trying to keep her tone light.
“Any woman would be lying if she said she wasn’t attracted to you. And I’m grateful for your friendship and all you’ve done
to help me with the renovation. But that’s all it is. Nothing more. That’s all it can ever be. I don’t . . . I don’t want
anything with you.”
It was so untrue. In this moment, she wanted everything about him. He was a good man who loved his mother, and she was not a good person. She had been selfish and self-centered, hurting her own mother so deeply.
“You aren’t a very good liar, Emma.”
Wrong. She was a great liar. She’d been lying to herself to think she could ever have this.
“I’ve got to get back to work. Thanks for being a shoulder.”
She could see the hurt in his eyes, and it tore at her. But she didn’t know what else to do.
“Anytime,” he murmured.
As Emma headed back to the other room, she added one more thing to the long list of reasons to be upset with herself.
She was doing the right thing, wasn’t she? Even if it felt like she was tearing her own heart out in the process.