Free The Love Series Complete Box Set by Melissa Collins Page A

a shaking breath before admitting this next part. “Since the moment I met you, I’ve wanted to be here in your arms, but you’ve done nothing but push me away. So tell me how I was supposed to think that you felt anything other than hatred for me.”
    “So you think I’m a knight in shining armor huh?” His lips quirk up into a gorgeous little smile, and I roll my eyes. I slap him playfully on the chest—his broad, muscular, perfect chest that I just seem to now be noticing is not covered in a shirt.
    God, I hope he’s not naked under here.
    Yes, I do.
    No, I don’t.
    Yes, I do.
    Silence again permeates the room, but he’s the one to break it this time.
    “I’ve been an ass, Maddy.” His confession gets a small chuckle from me.
    “That’s an understatement, Reid.”
    “Okay, fine! I’ve been a huge ass. Like, off-the-charts ass. I’m pretty sure Sir Mix-a-lot wrote a song about me.” His words are playful and mocking, but he knows that there is truth in them.
    “That sounds more like it. You can proceed now,” I quip, and stick my tongue out at him, hoping to keep the mood light. I want him to keep opening up. I’m dying to know what he feels.
    He reaches out with his other hand so that he’s cupping both of my cheeks. He lines my face up with his and stares even deeper, if that’s even possible, into my green eyes.
    “I’m so sorry I’ve acted that way, Maddy. I know it sounds cliché and dumb, but I never meant to hurt you. I . . . well, you . . . I mean. . . . Oh, God I can’t even speak right now. What I mean to say is . . . um . . . well . . .” His incoherent ramblings trail off as I lean my face in closer to his.
    I stare patiently up into his crystal-blue eyes and whisper, “What, Reid? What do you want to say?”
    He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, his gaze never wavering from mine.
    “You’ve completely knocked me off my game. I’ve never met anyone like you, and it scares the shit out of me. It’s like you don’t see me.” My brow furrows in confusion and I move to interrupt, but he continues before I get the chance. “You don’t see me—you see straight through me. You see beyond the outside, and it’s like you see the me that no one else sees. I saw it in your eyes that first night I met you, and it knocked me on my ass. I was a goner, and since then I guess I’ve just been trying to push you away.”
    Wow, now that’s a confession.
    He shushes me and continues.
    “You’re a smart-ass, and I love that you keep me on my toes. You are most definitely not like the other girls, and I love that, but it also scares me like nothing else. I haven’t let anyone in for years and, well, with you I feel like I want to give it a chance.”
    Did he just say love?
    Twice?
    It’s all so much to take in. My brain is still in a fog, and all of this new information is not processing very quickly. Reid must see me trying to make sense of it all, and even under his scrutinizing stare, I can’t form any words.
    “It’s a lot, Maddy—I know. And I know I have no right to ask you to share how you’re feeling, but can you give me something? I’m dying here.”
    “I’ve never let anyone in, either.” My words are barely a whisper, but I continue, “I’ve kept so many walls up my whole life. The only one who has ever gotten through is Mel, and that’s mostly because I’ve known her since middle school. I keep people at such a distance that I even broke up with the only boyfriend I’ve ever had before I came here because I didn’t want us to get close.”
    His response is a laugh. He asks me to open up and then laughs.
    Fucker.
    “Seriously! You’re going to laugh at me, Reid? Well, thanks for this heart-to-heart, but I think I’m done.” I cross my arms over my chest and huff at him. He’s such an ass.
    “I’m sorry. It’s just that you said you’ve only had one boyfriend, and I find that fucking hilarious. Seriously—just one. You mean to tell me that your