Amelia sat across from Hale in the softly lit restaurant, her mind miles away despite the warm ambiance and the luxurious meal spread before her. She had agreed to this dinner hoping it would offer some relief from the turmoil swirling in her heart. Instead, the weight of Ryan’s absence and the thought of his upcoming wedding loomed larger than ever.
“You’ve hardly touched your food,” Hale said, his voice gentle but probing. “If it’s the duck, I’ll have a word with the chef. But if it’s something else…”
Amelia shook her head, forcing a faint smile. “It’s not the food,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
Hale leaned forward, his expression softening. “Amelia, you’ve been carrying so much on your own. You don’t have to anymore.” His hand slid across the table, resting lightly over hers.
Her fingers stiffened under his touch, but she didn’t pull away. The warmth of his hand was grounding, even if it couldn’t quite reach the ache in her chest. “Sometimes, it feels like the past is impossible to escape,” she murmured, more to herself than to him.
Hale’s grip tightened slightly, his voice steady. “That’s because you’re still looking back. Let me help you look forward. You deserve that. You deserve someone who sees you for who you are now—not who you were with him.”
Amelia swallowed hard, guilt and confusion colliding in her chest. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, that her heart was too tied up in memories of Ryan to think about anyone else. But Hale’s steady gaze made her hesitate.
“You think I don’t notice the walls you put up around me?” Hale continued, his tone firm but not unkind. “I don’t care how long it takes, Amelia. I’ll break them down if it means you’ll finally let yourself be happy.”
His words struck something deep inside her. Hale wasn’t Ryan. He wasn’t wrapped in layers of guilt and complexity. He was here, willing and certain, offering her something she hadn’t allowed herself to believe in for years.
She looked at him, her lips parting to speak, but no words came out. Her silence seemed to embolden him. He rose from his seat and rounded the table to stand beside her, taking her hands in his.
“Stop punishing yourself for the past,” he said, his voice low and intense. “Let go of the pain and let me in.”
Before she could respond, Hale leaned down, his lips brushing hers in a kiss that started tender but quickly deepened with fervor. Amelia froze for a moment, caught between the pull of his passion and the weight of her lingering sadness. Slowly, she allowed herself to respond, her hands moving to his shoulders as the kiss grew more urgent.
Hale cupped her face, his thumb brushing away a tear she hadn’t realized had fallen. “I see you, Amelia,” he whispered against her lips. “I’ll never stop seeing you.”
For a brief moment, she let herself lean into the moment, into the warmth of his embrace. But as Hale pulled her closer, reality seeped back in, and she broke the kiss, her chest heaving.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice shaking. “I just… I need time.”
Hale searched her face, his frustration flickering before he tamped it down. He pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead before stepping back. “Take all the time you need,” he said, his voice softer now. “But don’t shut me out, Amelia. You don’t have to face this alone.”
As they left the restaurant, Hale walked her to her car, his hand resting lightly on her back. She appreciated the gesture but couldn’t shake the heavy feeling in her chest. Once she was alone in the driver’s seat, Amelia stared at her reflection in the rearview mirror, her lips still tingling from his kiss.
She glanced at her phone, hoping—praying—for a message from Ryan that hadn’t come.