Page 99 of Take Care, Taylor

“Depends. Can we start over?” he asked, his voice hoarse. “Can we please fucking start over?”

Not giving me a chance to respond, he moved closer, cupping my face in his hands.

“I’m Taylor Wolff,” he said. “I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember, and I can’t live without you. I need you to take me back.”

My world shifted on its axis. The ground tilted under my feet.

He kissed me again, gripping my waist a little tighter. “What else do you need me to say?”

“You should’ve told me about the affair…”

“I didn’t tell you because I thought you’d leave me,” he said. “And you did.”

“If you could do it over…” Tears fell past my cheeks, landing on his fingertips as he wiped them away. “Would you tell me?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I know that sounds selfish, but it’s true. I wouldn’t. But I promise I’ll never hold anything back from you again.”

“I wrote you a letter… It should probably get there today.”

“I didn’t forward my address, so I doubt I’ll get it,” he said. “Does it say anything about us?”

“It says I hate you, and I don’t want to see you for a while.”

“Does it have your real return address?”

“Yes.”

“So most of the words in the letter are things you don’t even mean?”

“Exactly.”

His lips curved into a smile, and he pressed his lips against mine—kissing me so hard and deep that I forgot we were in public.

He rubbed his hands along my sides as he slowly pulled away, letting me breathe.

“How many drafts did it take you to write this speech?” Tears kept falling down my cheeks.

“More than I’ve written in my entire life.” He clasped my hands. “Do you think it could’ve used another rewrite?”

“No, it was perfect.”

“The two years when you stopped talking to me were the worst years of my life,” he said softly, his voice raw. “I could barely function, Audrey. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving you were never a mistake.”

“Can we please fucking start over, once and for all, Audrey Parker?”

“I would love that, Taylor Wolff.”

“Me too...” His lips crashed against mine, and everything that had ever gone wrong between us fell away.

This time, the story didn’t end—it finally began.

EPILOGUE

The End