My heart beats faster, and the pulse in my ears drowns my thoughts as I search for the right words. My mouth opens, and nothing comes out, no matter how hard I try.
“I love you,” she murmurs. “But I had time to think. I don’t know where my life is going. Being with you makes me feel like I’m on top of the world, but how long can this go on? I know you love me and you love God, but you can’t have both. And I can’t –I can’t . . .”
She buries her face in her hands, and my heart literally breaks. I cover the distance between us and pull her in my arms, hugging her tight. I press my lips on her hair as hot tears fall down my cheeks.
“I’m so sorry for putting you in this position, Gracie. Listen—”
“Stop, okay?” She smacks my chest lightly with her fists. I feel each hit embed itself in my heart. “Just don’t say anything. Please.”
My hands curl around her shoulders, ready to make her listen to me, but her quiet sobs stop me. So I just hold her.
We stay like this, our hearts shattering into pieces around us. I look back on the past few months, seeing how selfish I’ve been.
Without talking, she pushes away from me and grabs her purse and coat. She turns to walk to the door and opens it. Once she disappears out the door, desperation washes over me, and I jog after her. She’s standing at the front desk, checking out of our room.
Once she is done, she slips on her coat and looks over her shoulder at me before heading for the main door. We can’t part like this.
I trail after her just as she stops in front of her car.
“Grace!” I yell, my long strides covering the space between us. She turns around, and our bodies collide. My mouth crashes against hers, and we’re kissing desperately, her hands tugging my hair and mine cupping her face, holding her in place. I’m memorizing this moment.
The kiss is over as soon as it started, and I’m stumbling back while she’s opening the car door and getting inside the car. We stare at each other.
I’m about to open my mouth to tell her how much I love her, how much I understand her decision and I’m ready to give us a chance, how sorry I am, but she looks away and starts the car. Then she throws her shoulders back and pats her hair with both hands as if she’s adjusting a crown atop her head.
Without another glance in my direction, she grips the wheel and drives off, leaving me standing at a crossroad. The weight of my sins presses down, down, down on my shoulders, and I feel like I’m suffocating.
My heart is at war. There are choices to be made, and I can’t make them standing here. So I pull my cap from my back pocket and put it on, then head to my car.
I drive in the opposite direction. There’s a gaping hole in my chest, and my hands are shaking on the wheel.
There are angels and demons at war inside my head, and I’m not sure which side is winning.
I wanted God. And I wanted Grace. I’d lost Grace, and I wasn’t even sure if I had God.
Autumn Grey writes sexy contemporary romances full of drama, steamy kisses and happy ever afters. She loves reading stories with flawed and quirky characters, broody alphas and sassy heroines.