Part 21

My hand was shaky as I knocked on the red door that stood between Luke Emery and me. I had spent the entire day preparing for this very moment. He still had no idea that I was in the same country as him, let alone the same hotel. Ava had kept him occupied all day and just came back with him 15 minutes ago. She rushed into Cody's room letting me know that now was the time.

I tried to listen for his footsteps but the only thing I could hear was my heart beating wildly in my chest. This was the moment that I had spent hours on the plane preparing for and yet I had no words in my head…it was completely blank. I hoped that when he opened the door that I would find something of significance to say to him. But at the very moment I sincerely doubted it.

What was I doing?

He was going to take one look at me and close the door in my face.

I hadn't given him enough time to heal. Two weeks wasn't long enough for him to forgive me.

What was I thinking?

I turned on my heels and began to walk away before I decided to turn back around and stand in front of the door. I had already knocked. There was not backing out now. The handle turned on the door and my heart stopped beating. My breath was captured in my chest.

The door opened and Luke stood in front of me. He was a sight for sore eyes. Hair was hanging in front of his crystal eyes and he wore sweat pants and a tight tee. He looked amazing, as always. I then studied his face, which was seemingly full of shock. I didn't blame him though, I expected as much. Maybe surprising him was a bad idea. But I couldn't change that now.

I blinked and then tried to put a smile on my face. His facial expression was making me extremely uncomfortable. I had to say something. This needed to start.

"Hi." Wow what a way to start the conversation. But nothing more could get out of my mouth. He shook his head and backed away.

"What are you doing here? When? How? How long?" He rambled. I stayed at the door, not wanting to go into the room until he invited me.

"I just got in a few hours ago." I answered simply, disregarding his first question.

"What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" I asked meekly, still avoiding the question. My hands were playing with the hem of my shirt.

"What? Yeah, sure." He said distractedly as he kept staring at me with wide eyes. I really surprised him. I walked into the room and smiled when I saw the pile of clothes around his suitcase. I sat down on one end of the couch and waited patiently until he sat down on the other end. He cleared his throat. "What are you doing here?"

"I think it's pretty obvious."

"Some warning would have been nice. What were you thinking just showing up here?" He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair like he always did when he was frustrated.

"If I called then you would have had a chance to tell me not to come. I needed to speak to you in person." I reasoned…I didn't really want to tell him it was Cody's idea.

"Well don't you think I should have the option of not seeing you? It's only been two weeks. I'm not ready to talk."

"You told me to find you when I changed my mind. And my mind has been changed."

"You can't just expect to come in here, announce that you've changed your mind, and make things the way they used to be." He protested. His arms were crossed over his chest in a very defensive manor.

"I don't think this is going to be easy at all. It's going to take time. But Luke, this is real, what you and I have. It's so real. I just freaked. I freaked and I'm sorry."

"You did exactly what you promised you wouldn't do. How can I trust you?" At this point he stood up and began pacing.

I took in a deep breath. "Luke Emery I have been in love with you for so long. I can't let this end. I love you in ways that I never even imagined I could love someone. I love you with my entire body and mind." I didn't care how stupid it sounded. He needed to know. "And if you feel for me half of what I feel for you then I know we're going to be okay."

"You made me leave. You ended this, not me." His arms seemingly got tighter around his chest. He sat down again.

"I know. I know that and I'll always be sorry for it. But can't you at least try and understand where I'm coming from. I was hurting you and I couldn't stand it. I thought I was doing the right thing. I obviously wasn't but I thought I was at the time. Luke, I love you. That's all that matters."

"Do you know how much you broke my trust for you? The rest of our relationship will be about me worrying that you're going to leave me. I'm not sure I want to be in a relationship like that. I'm not sure it's worth it."

"Do you love me?" I needed this conversation to end soon, it was wearing me out. I needed him to make a decision and let me either stay or leave. We could work on the details later but I needed the big answer.

"Did you hear anything I just said?" He asked as he rolled his eyes.

"Of course I did, I just need to get my part out right now. I had a long ass flight to recite it in my head and you aren't letting me say it right." I spat out before taking in a deep breath and trying to calm my nerves again.

"Fine, talk." He said after a moment's hesitation. I stared at him for a minute while I sorted through my thoughts one last time before I spoke them.

"I made a mistake…a huge mistake that I understand will take a long time to get past. But I believe that my mistake is forgivable, especially if you feel as strongly for me as I do for you. I freaked at the last minute and made a decision without thinking, and you have my word that I will never do that again. I never intentionally hurt you and I never would. I understand that this won't be fixed in a day but I need to know if I have a chance. Do we have a chance still? I live and learn and I learned from this. I don't ever want to be without you Luke Emery. You're the one for me. I love you so much it hurts." I took in a long breath and scanned my head for anything else that I needed to say but found nothing. That was my argument I was either going to get him back or I wasn't. I stared into his eyes and waited for his response. My palms were sweaty and my head was pounding from all my jumbled thoughts.

"I love you too." He whispered like it hurt him to say those words. "I sure as hell wish I didn't right now, but I do. I do even though you ripped out my heart and sent me away. I love you so much regardless of all of that."

"Then don't you think that we should fight for this? Isn't love worth fighting for?" He was silent so I kept talking. "Luke, sometimes life takes you down a path you never expected. The one thing in my life that I thought was going to ruin me brought me to you. Fate brought us together and I really believe that. Before I met you I would have never used the word fate in a sentence that involved my life. But I really believe that you and I are meant to be together. You are my happiness. You are my everything. You complete me. I love you."

"I believe you." He uttered softly.

"Then let's make this work. I'm here to stay if you'll take me. This can work." I felt like I was making progress. He seemed to be inching closer and closer to giving in and accepting me back. My heart was feeling lighter already.

"It's going to be hard."

"I know that." I nodded and inched a bit closer to him. He did the same.

"I love you." He whispered before standing up and then sitting down again next to me. His lips suddenly crashed against mine and stayed there for a few seconds. I savored his taste that I desperately missed the previous two weeks.

"I love you too." I whispered before tasting his lips again. My heart was jumping for joy in my chest. I couldn't believe what was happening, I was getting a second chance with the most amazing man on the planet.

"What made you come?" His forehead was resting against mine.

"You might be mad." I said sheepishly.

"Tell me." He insisted.

"Cody found a song you had written and sent it to me in an e-mail." I said as softly as I could, my eyes falling away from his.

"That snoop. He always looks around in my stuff…I don't even know what he's looking for half the time. But I guess it was worth it." He said after a moment.

"You guess?" I joked and pulled away from his embrace.

"I know." He said before kissing me gently once again.

"It was the most beautiful song that I've ever read. I was literally packing within minutes of reading it."

"I meant every word of it."

"I love you Luke Emery." I whispered as I closed my eyes.

"And I love you."

And that's the end! I hope everyone enjoyed this story because I had an amazing time writing it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story, I really appreciated the feedback!