“What are you talking about?” I take her hands in mine. “We’re supposed to be together now.” I tuck a strand of her beautiful curls behind her ear and she looks up at me through her lashes. Oh no. Her eyes are filled with tears. What is happening right now? I feel my heart jump up into my throat and a feeling of desperation now washes over me. I can’t lose her.
“Brooke, I love you. Do you hear me? I fucking love you! I’ve always loved you. I’m so sorry that I was so dense and didn’t realize it sooner. I want to be with you and only you. I. Love. You.” I search her eyes frantically waiting for her to look at me, to smile at me, and fall into my arms and tell me she’ll be mine.
She does look at me but there’s no sign of hope in her eyes. The desire that pooled in her gorgeous green eyes last night is gone.
“As much as I would love to believe that Conner, I’m not sure I can.”
No, no, no, no, no, baby. Don’t do this. A sharp pain suddenly penetrates my chest and I feel like I can’t breath. Like the lump that has formed in my throat is blocking any oxygen from getting in.
“I think you’re just afraid of losing me. Conner, you don’t know how to commit. You never have,” she says, shrugging and smiling lightly. “And you certainly don’t know how to be by yourself. But those two things create a deadly combination for any woman who falls for you.” She squeezes my hand tightly and I feel tears begin to prick in my eyes.
She continues, “Just because you now know that I love you and you think you love me it doesn’t change who you are. And I don’t want it to. I fell in love with who you are. Unfortunately, you just aren’t boyfriend material. And I’ve come to terms with that. And I love you anyway and I want us to be friends. I don’t want anything more to happen between us that will complicate what we have.”
I inhale sharply and let her words pass through me. It doesn’t matter who or what I was before. That changed the moment I realized that I love her. “I don’t want to just be friends with you, Brooke. I want more to happen between us. So much more. I want super complicated and super simple and everything in between. I want it all with you.”
I take her face in my hands again and kiss her deeply and passionately. The way I kissed her last night. The way I’ve wanted to kiss her for days. For a moment she kisses me back but then suddenly pulls away and rests her forehead against mine. I can feel that she’s breathless. I know she wants it too. Why are you fighting this? I watch tears fall down her cheeks and drop between us.
“Conner, I’m so sorry. I can’t,” she breathes.
The way she says my name, as if it causes her physical pain sends chills up my body.
What Happens Next?
Things are heating up for Brooke and Conner! Get the next book in the series to find out what happens!
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Where There’s Smoak Series:
There’s Warmth
There’s Trouble
There’s Heat
There’s Danger
There’s Fire
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Surviving Love and War Series
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The Love of a Lieutenant
The Mind of a Lieutenant
The Courage of a Lieutenant
The Soul of a Lieutenant
The Heart of a Lieutenant
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Guilty Pleasure
Line of Fire
Ten-Four
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(A Military Enemies to Lovers Romance)
Disturbed
Evolved
Ashamed
Accepted
Sacrificed
About the Author
Nadine is a sloppy romantic at heart. She loves to curl up on her front porch swing in the mornings with her extra large cup of coffee and lose herself in a blissfully, butterfly-filled, pure romance story. However, her guilty pleasures are found within the pages of the steamy romances with sexy alpha’s that ignite temptation, desire, and lust.
As much as she enjoys reading romances, she enjoys writing them even more. She thrives on the opportunity to give her readers the chance to escape into the chiseled arms of their latest book boyfriend and leave them fantasizing days later.
She has been punching keys for years and now that she has built up a collection of heartthrobs, she is ready to finally share them with the world.
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There's Heat: A Friends to Lovers Romance Page 9
