Bella pov
"Why not?" His hand lifted, hovering near my face but not touching. "Give me one good reason that isn't about the past."
"Because" I struggled to think, to remember why this was a bad idea when all I could focus on was his bare chest inches from me, the smell of scotch and his cologne, the heat radiating off his body. "Because if this goes wrong, Tom suffers."
"And if it goes right?" His thumb finally touched my cheek, barely a whisper of contact. "If we actually try and it works?"
I closed my eyes, unable to handle the intensity of his gaze. "You can't promise it will work."
"No, but I can promise I'll fight for it with everything I have." His voice was low, intimate. "I can promise I'll never stop trying to be worthy of you. I can promise"
"Stop." I opened my eyes, put my
