Will you listen to me just this once?โ he nearly yelled. โI . . . I like you, Maddy. I mean, more than just as a friend. Are you so stubborn you canโt see that? Maybe last night meant nothing to you, but it meant something to me.โ His eyes were vulnerable, almost tortured. โDid you ever even consider that I might love you, you stubborn, impossible girl?
Scott SpeerThat's the funny thing, she thought. You always want things to get better, but you never know how good you already have it.
Scott SpeerHe stopped and pointed an accusing finger at her. โI didnโt ask for this. But I felt something in that back room with you, and itโs stayed with me ever since. I want to be with you. I need to be with you.โ His tone was both angry and helpless.
Scott SpeerJacks stood beside her. Instead of saying anything, she felt his fingers trace up her palm and then lace into hers. He had taken her hand before, quickly and for functional reasonsโusually to drag her off to someplace she didnโt want to goโbut he had never held her hand. Not the way couples did in parks or lovers did in old movies. Maddy stood there and felt the heat of his grip. It made her think of that first night in the diner, when they had talked about pretend memories and she had felt so connected to him.
Scott SpeerI want to give you something.โ He slid the ring off his finger. โUp until this week, Iโve never wanted anything more in my life than to wear this ring. Not as a piece of jewelry, but because I thought I could find meaning in saving others, in being a hero. But the meaning Iโve finally found in my life is from meeting you.โ He set the ring on the palm of his hand and held it out. โI want you to have it.
Scott Speer