Bitter Truth (Hawthorne Vines #1)

She pauses for just a breath, her eyes searching mine.

“And I know that I’m in love with you.”

It takes a second for her words to sink in, and when they do, something heavy in my chest takes flight, leaving me feeling weightless.

“I’m in love with you, too,” I tell her. “So in love with you.”

At that, Murphy’s leaning in and pressing her lips to mine, all thoughts of our earlier conversation taking a back seat to this moment.

It’s not a kiss filled with lust or desire. It’s a kiss filled with love. There’s something special about it that I can’t name. All I can do is feel it.

We pull back to look at each other, and I reach up and tuck some of her loose hairs behind her ear, then stroke my thumb down her jaw.

“I’m sorry about what you went through in Chicago,” she tells me, sympathy written all over her face. “And how everything turned out.”

I shake my head. “It was my own fault,” I tell her. “Are you not at all upset with me?”

At that, her brows scrunch in confusion.

“Why would I be upset with you?”

“I mean, you had someone offer you your dream if you would compromise yourself, and you refused. I thought I saw a chance at something better, and I took it without a second thought.”

She considers me for a moment, her eyes scanning my face.

“If you could go back to any point in time and talk to yourself about what happened in Chicago and give yourself advice, what would you say?”

Blinking a few times, I think it over, having never thought of this before.

“I’d probably go back to before I went to Chicago and tell myself that I should listen to Chef Hines. That I need to focus more on the things I value than the value of things.”

Her lips tilt up at the sides.

“Wes, you talk about this mistake like it’s one of the most horrible things a person can do.” Her hand reaches out and twists into mine again. “But someone who has truly sold their soul wouldn’t care this much about redemption.”

I shake my head and just stare at Murphy.

“I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve said.”

She grins, something playful coming across her smile.

“Yeah, well … you’d better check if I’m in network,” she teases. “This therapy session is gonna cost you big-time.”

“Oh yeah?”

She nods.

“Do you take AmEx?”

Murphy giggles, her head falling back, the sound deflating the last bit of tension still lingering in the air around us.

“Hmm, that’s a no. How about Discover?”

“Who even uses Discover?” she asks, still smiling wide.

“All right, not Discover. How about this?” I lean forward, so my lips are just a breath from hers.

I kiss her gently, and just for a heartbeat. When I pull back, she licks her lips.