The Heiress They Couldn't Break (Amelia and Jeremy) novel Chapter 706

Josie had asked for a pinch, and he had certainly delivered. The sting was sharp, but it was the best pain she'd ever felt because it meant she wasn't dreaming.

"Harrison, it's actually happening," she breathed, her eyes shimmering with tears of relief. "You're really telling me how you feel."

She didn't let a second go by before answering him, her words tumbling out in a rush of honesty.

"I love you too. I've loved you from the very first moment I saw you again. I thought it was just a crush, but now I know it was something deeper. That memory was buried in my heart, and no matter what happened to my head, it never went away."

She took a shaky breath and looked him in the eye. "I know I act like a flirt sometimes, but I've never actually been with anyone else. It's always been you. And I don't blame you for what you did. You were trying to save me. I know how much you must have suffered carrying that secret alone for three years. I forgive you, Harrison. I really do."

Saying the words out loud felt like a weight lifting off her shoulders. Everything was finally out in the open.

Deep down, a small part of her wanted to complain that his memory wipe had robbed her of remembering what their first time had been like. But the mood was too perfect, and Harrison looked like he was on the verge of tears himself. She couldn't bring herself to ruin the moment.

Besides, she'd heard that the first time was usually more painful than pleasant anyway. She could always bring it up later, once she had him officially wrapped around her finger.

"I'm glad you don't hate me," Harrison said, his voice thick with emotion. "I've spent so much time overthinking everything."

He felt a profound sense of relief. If he had known she would be this understanding, he never would have stayed away. He wouldn't have let her go through all that rejection.

He stood up, walked to her, and pulled her into his arms. She melted into it without a second thought.

This was, by her count, an excellent situation to find herself in.

He kissed her like she was something he had nearly lost and never intended to lose again, and she felt the slight tremor in his arms, the heat of every unsteady breath.

She rose onto her tiptoes and looped her arms around his neck, kissing him back with everything she had, clumsy and fierce and utterly earnest, as if the years they had wasted could somehow be kissed away.

When they finally broke apart to catch their breath, Harrison rested his forehead against hers. His eyes were soft, filled with a protective warmth. "Josie, I promise I'll never let you feel that way again."

"I'm so happy," she whispered, leaning into his strength.

She sighed dramatically. "And then, in the blink of an eye, I'm back in his bed. Amelia, do I have no spine? What if he gets bored and dumps me now that he's got what he wanted?"

Harrison, who happened to be standing right behind her, caught every word. He stood there, frozen, staring at the documents in his hand.

So that was her plan? He found himself wondering if he should start sending her dozens of texts a day just to make her feel like she'd won the chase. Would that make her happy?

And since when did women talk like that with each other, so openly, so candidly?

He stayed where he was, his fingers absently tracing the edge of the documents he had just brought out from the study, his gaze settling on the faint blush creeping up the tips of her ears.

In front of him she was all sweetness and compliance, soft as a cat curled in a patch of sun. Apparently that was not the whole picture.

The corner of his mouth curved, just barely, and something wicked flickered in his eyes. A dozen texts. That was not a bad idea at all. He wanted to see it for himself, the flustered scrambling she would try so hard to disguise as composure.

As for the private talk between women, he ultimately decided he'd have to get used to it.