Free Loving You (Love Wanted in Texas) by Kelly Elliott Page B

Lauren stopped and leaned in to whisper something to Taylor. I couldn’t help but notice how hard Taylor was breathing, and I wanted more than anything to pull her into my arms and beg her to start over.
    With a sincere smile directed toward me, Lauren turned and headed into the barn.
    Taylor pushed her long brown hair behind her ear and peeked up at me. “I . . . I’ve been wanting to . . . I mean.” Sighing, she turned her head away from me.
    My heart couldn’t have been beating any harder than it was at that point. I knew deep in my heart Taylor deserved so much better than me, but I was tired of caring. I loved her and wanted her so damn much. “You look beautiful, Taylor.”
    She slowly shook her head while pressing her lips together. I knew she was about to get upset. Walking up to her, I wrapped her in my arms and held her as her shoulders shook with sobs.
    “I’m so sorry for hurting you, Taylor. I’d give anything to go back to that day in Paris and change it. I pray to God you believe me.”
    Burying her face into my chest, she nodded. I moved my body and held her to my side as we walked over toward a gazebo. Stopping, I motioned for her to sit down.
    The moment she looked into my eyes, I felt my stomach drop. She looked emotionally drained and her eyes were filled with such sadness. “I was so angry and I wanted you to hurt like you hurt me. I didn’t really want you to leave and I didn’t mean to . . .” Her eyes snapped shut as she slumped over and cried harder.
    I knew she was thinking about the night she spent with that asshole. I’d love to punch his face. If I ever saw him again I probably would.
    “We both did enough hurting of each other to last a lifetime . . . me especially to you, sweetness. Can’t we just forget all of that and start over? I mean really start over and do all of this right. I feel like fate is giving us a second chance.”
    She sniffled and wiped her tears away. “What do you mean?”
    With a grin, I looked around before turning back to her. “Are you really working here?”
    Her expression softened as she nodded her head. “I am. And I guess I’ll be living here too. It makes sense since my parents live in Fredericksburg.”
    Is this really happening? Was Taylor going to be living less than thirty minutes from me? My heart beat rapidly in my chest at the thought. I’d never felt so happy in my life.
    “Please tell me I’m not dreaming because there is no way fate would be so cruel.”
    With a giggle, she shook her head. “Fate. Lauren was just talking about how fate always seems to step in where we’re concerned.”
    A single tear rolled slowly down her cheek.
    Lifting my hand, I wiped the wetness away and brushed my thumb across her skin. “I love you, Taylor. I’ve always loved you and hope you know that is why I acted so fucking crazy.”
    Her smile faded. “I know you have. I’ve done something though and I think you should know. It . . . it might change how you feel about me.”
    It killed me knowing she was beating herself up over what happened. “Nothing else matters except for you telling me right now you forgive me for being a total ass in Paris and all those other times I played tug of war with your heart. I’ll make you this promise right now . . . I will never be the reason you cry again unless they are tears of happiness.”
    Her hand came up to cover her mouth. Closing her eyes, she said something I couldn’t understand.
    “Sweetness, please don’t cry.”
    Tears streamed down her face and it destroyed me. “Jase, that day you left.”
    Shaking my head, I held up my hand. “None of that matters.”
    She grabbed my hand and pushed it down. “Please let me tell you this because I don’t want anything between us. We’ve always had something between us and I don’t want that. Like you said, I want to start over clean, and the only way I can do that is if I tell you everything.”
    With a slight nod, I held my breath and waited for her to