Page 94 of Shame Me

I couldn’t help the sarcastic huff that exited my mouth.

Ignoring it, he searched my eyes. “I know you think I was using you, and I questioned myself, trying to figure out if I was. But that’s not it. I have loved you from the beginning—I just don’t know how to not fuck up everything I touch.”

As much as I resisted, I couldn’t help wanting to believe him. His voice was stripped bare, earnest and soft—and my heart responded, completely ignoring my brain.

What the hell was I thinking?

“I get why you’re with Bray. He’s everything I’m not.”

“And it’s too late, Zack. You can’t just ask me to forget how you’ve shredded my heart—and I can’t keep letting you do that.”

“I’m not asking you to. I just…” Again, he looked at his boots, his hands still gripping mine like a lifeline. “Just don’t give up on me. Not yet.”

My heart thudded in my chest—because I could talk a good game. I could pretend to be strong and invincible…but I still loved him. Despite his flaws and all the times he’d hurt me, he still took up a huge space in my heart.

And as he squeezed my hands and looked back at me with those sharp green eyes of his, I hated myself. Because no matter how much I wished I could walk away, I couldn’t.

I wasn’t done with Zack Ryan. I still loved him, and I couldn’t stop.

We walked back in the diner as the plates of burgers and fries were being delivered. I felt shaken to the core—and when I got back to the booth, Braden’s sweet brown eyes searched mine. “You okay?”

Jesus. He could tell something was wrong.

I lied. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

But I was far from it.