I wiped her tear and then put my arm around her, pulling her into me. “Words can’t even describe how sorry I am.”

“Before the accident, I had planned to race myself the following year. But now, I’m scared to death of the water and I can only look at it from a distance.”

My grip around her tightened. She looked up at me with such sadness in her eyes that it took everything I had not to cry with her. My lips softly brushed against hers, a soft-spoken kiss that instantly turned passionate. My desire for her became stronger and, before I knew it, my hands were all over her, feeling every curve her body had to offer. She broke our kiss and pulled away.

“I’m sorry, Collin. I can’t.”

“No, I’m sorry, Amelia. I crossed the line.”

We both sat up and she looked at me. “It’s okay. There’s no need to apologize. Things just got a little hot and heavy and I’m not ready for that. To be honest, I don’t know if I’ll ever be,” she said as she turned away from me. “In fact, please just take me home. I never should’ve done this.”

I was stunned by her words. “Done what, Amelia?”

“Please just take me home. I want to go home.” She began to cry.

“Why? So you can sit there all alone and shut out the world like you’ve done for the past two years?”

“That’s none of your business!” she snapped.

“It is my business because I really like you and I don’t want to see you hurt anymore.”

She got up from the ground and slowly walked away. “You don’t get to tell me when I can stop hurting.”

“Fine. If that’s what you want, then fine.” I got up, grabbed the blanket and the basket, and headed to the Range Rover. Amelia followed behind. I threw everything in the back and we drove in silence. When we reached her building, she got out of the vehicle, slammed the door, and went inside.

I pulled away from the curb with a tight grip on the steering wheel. As I turned the corner, I pulled over. She had opened up to me and this was just the beginning. Her tragedy was reborn when she told me about it, which sent her into fear again. I kept playing my mom’s words over and over again. “Even broken people can be fixed.” Amelia wasn’t the only one who was broken. I was too, but in a different way. We needed each other. I got out of the Range Rover and walked to her building. Someone was coming out the door, so I held it for them and walked right up to the second floor. I knocked hesitantly, not knowing what was in store for me for the rest of the night.

Chapter 19

The door flew open and she sighed. “Somehow, I knew you’d come up here.”

“Damn right!” I said. “I don’t want to argue and I don’t want to leave tonight being angry. I don’t want to do anything except be with you. I’m happy holding you in my arms, because right now, I think that’s where you belong.”

People were opening up their doors and looking out into the hallway. Amelia grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me into her apartment. “Get in here. You’re making a scene.”

I took her hands in mine. She tried to pull away, but my grip on them tightened. “Look at me, Amelia,” I said. “I’m sorry for earlier. I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t want you to be scared of me.”

“I’m not scared of you, Collin. It’s just—”

“Just what?”

She took in a deep breath and looked into my eyes. “I’m just scared of life.”

I pulled her into me and held her. “Me too, Amelia. Me too. But I think we’re more scared of the unexpected.”

“I live every day in fear that something bad is going to happen because I’ve experienced how your life can change in a split second.” She pulled back and left my arms. “Since you’re here, can I offer you something?”

“No, I’m good. Amelia,” I said as I ran my hands through my hair. “Have you ever talked to a doctor about how you feel?”

“No. I haven’t talked to anybody. Like I told you earlier, you’re the first person I’ve told in detail about the accident.”

“Why did you tell me?”

She looked at me and then diverted her eyes to the ceiling. “I don’t know, Collin. It just felt right.”

“Exactly, Amelia. It felt right. Just like it feels right being with you.”

Just as I said that, my phone starting ringing. I pulled it from my pocket and saw that it was Hailey. I hit ignore and put it back in my pocket. I sat down on the couch and asked her to sit with me. I held out my arms and she sat on my lap.

“If we’re going to spend time together, then we have to take things slow,” she said as she laid her head on my chest. “I really do like you, Collin. Even though you tripped me and then ran me over with your cart.”

I laughed. “For the last time, I didn’t run you over.”

She looked up at me with a smile and I softly kissed her lips. There was no place else I wanted to be. I was content holding her in my arms. But, I was bothered by the fact that Hailey kept calling me.

****

“I’m surprised you came home last night,” my dad said as he strolled into the kitchen and poured some coffee.

“Where else would I go?”

He gave me a perplexed look as he sipped the coffee from his cup. “I thought you’d be staying at Amelia’s, since you went out last night.”

“Nah. We talked and we’re taking things slow. Very slow.”

“That’s good, son. That’s the way things should happen. It’s not good to rush into anything. Take your time and get to know each other.”

“She’s really messed up, Dad. I mean, in a bad way.”

“What do you mean?” he asked as he set down his cup.

“She told me about the boating accident last night and it nearly killed me. What she experienced was horrific. I seriously don’t know if I could ever recover from something like that.”

“It sounds to me like she hasn’t, and if it’s as bad as you say it was, and you really like her, then maybe you can help her. Poor girl probably never had any support after the accident.”

I sat there, lightly shaking my head, debating whether or not to tell him that Hailey had been calling me. “Hailey called me last night while I was with Amelia and it wasn’t the first time.”

He looked up from his phone and raised one eyebrow at me. “What do you mean, it wasn’t the first time? What does she want?”