Free B01EU62FUC (R) by Kirsten Osbourne Page B

around.”
    “Dropped a bomb? By telling you I love you?” Jesse knew his anger was ridiculous. He’d been hiding his feelings from her for years, and he’d known she’d react the way she had. So why does it hurt so much?
    She sucked in a breath. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
    “Because I knew how you’d react. Because you were dating someone else. Because you were so skittish I was afraid you’d never speak to me outside of work again. I was afraid it would ruin our chemistry on the set.” He shook his head. “but more than anything, because you weren’t ready to hear it !”
    She led the way into her trailer and stalked to the refrigerator. “So why did you tell me this morning?”
    “You forced me into it. You and Jennifer.” He sighed. “I didn’t want to scare you.”
    “I feel like I’ve been lied to for four years.”
    “I didn’t lie to you. I never said I didn’t love you.” He frowned, picking up the bottle of water she’d placed in front of him and taking a swig. “I honestly didn’t feel like I had the right to tell you. You were dating someone else.”
    “Someone that you kne w didn’t treat me right!” She couldn’t help wondering how different her life would be if he’d admitted his love four years before. Would she have married him right away? It would certainly have saved her from four years of abuse.
    “But you still chose to stay with him.”
    Her face fell. “I thought you understood what happened there.”
    He sighed. “I do understand. Now. How could I then? I knew you two didn’t have the kind of passion you and I had, but that didn’t mean you didn’t care for him. For all I knew, you thought you were madly in love with him!”
    “Where does this leave us?” she asked, suddenly tired. She’d gone to bed the night before feeling like they could get through anything as long as they were together, and now this.
    He reached over and took her hand, bringing it to his lips. “We’re not in any different position than we were last night. I loved you then, and I still love you. The only difference is you know about it now.”
    “But my knowing it changes everything. At least in my mind.”
    “Not in mine.” Jesse frowned. The only thing different for him is he’d wanted her to confess her love as soon as he’d confessed his, and she hadn’t. “I feel the same as I always have. I married you knowing I loved you, and you didn’t love me back. It’s the same now.” Other than hurting a little more, of course. I can take it like a man, though.
    Valerie closed her eyes for a moment, feeling terrible. “I care about you a great deal, Jesse.”
    “I know you do. I also know we have great chemistry. I believe you can fall in love with me if you let yourself.” He shrugged. “Eventually.”
    “So in the meantime, I get to feel guilty because our feelings are uneven?”
    His eyes met hers, the hurt apparent in them. “There’s no reason for you to feel guilty. I knew what I was doing by marrying you.” He took the hand he still held and pulled her over onto his lap. “Val, let’s just leave things like they’ve been. I’ve got the woman I love in my arms every night. You’ve got the feeling of safety you needed. We’re okay. We’re both getting what we need from the other.” He recognized his words as a lie, but hoped she wouldn’t. He needed so much more than her acquiescence in bed. He needed her love.
    She nodded, unsure of what else they could do. “I guess.”
    “Did you call your agent to have her move your things yet?”
    She smiled. “ Now I understand the manly sappiness.”
    He grinned, tracing her lips with one finger. “Of course, you do. Does that make it better or worse?”
    “Neither one. Things are just—different.”
    “I’m still going to take care of you.”
    She sighed. “I appreciate the thought. I’m still going to learn to stand on my own two feet and take care of myself.”
    They went back to work a short while