The One Read Free Page B

breath.
Bouquets of all different colors and sizes filled the room. There were flowers
on the tables, by the windows, and all over the floor.
    “What is this?” I asked as I looked around the
room.
    “Look at me.” The way Jason said those words
commanded my undivided attention. “I owe you an apology.”
    “An apology?”
    “That day I saw you — I wasn’t thinking and I
acted purely on emotion. If I had actually stayed behind and spoken to you, I
would have understood the situation.”
    Tears welled up in my eyes.
    “Jason.” My voice shook. “I needed you in that
moment and you left. You didn’t even want to hear me speak.”
    “What I did was wrong. I left you alone when I
should have been there for you. Sophia, I’m so sorry.”
    The tears silently trailed down my cheeks.
    I let out a sigh. “You really hurt me, you
know that? I love you. I love you more than anyone I’ve ever known. But you
deserted me. And you know what really hurts? You doubted me. I thought we loved
each other and were in this for life. But you assumed I was capable of cheating
on you days after saying yes to your proposal.”
    More tears streamed down my face and I wiped
them away. I was surprised at this outburst of emotion but it had been bubbling
deep inside me over the past few weeks. Jason’s eyes flashed down to the floor.
    “I would never do that to you, Jason Powers. I
would never abandon you. And I would never cheat on you.”
    His caring eyes looked up at me. He wasn’t
moping or ashamed.
    “I know you wouldn’t, Sophia Fletcher.” He
stroked my cheek gently. “As soon as I left, I knew I was making a mistake. I
wanted to call you, but I wasn’t sure whether you wanted me to, or if you’d
even want me back.”
    I put my hand out and touched his arm. He
immediately moved his hand so that he was holding me back. The slight but firm
touch electrified me.
    He shook his head. “I couldn’t wait any
longer. I needed to see you.”
    “Did you watch the video?”
    Jason nodded. I let go of him and reclaimed my
arm. I scratched my head and looked away.
    “When I watched that video it told me what I
already knew. You would never do that to me, I know that. And what that man did
to you…”
    I looked up at him. There was a pulse in his
clenched jaw.
    Seeing Jason get angry over what Luke did made
me feel good. “Don’t worry.” I smirked. “I got him for you.”
    Jason smirked devilishly back at me. “I saw
that. You got him good.”
    Relief flooded through me.
    “As soon as I watched that video, I knew it
was a set-up,” Jason said.
    “A set-up?”
    “Tabloids like to meddle in peoples’ lives to
get new material. In this case, they hired someone from your past to cause
drama in our relationship.”
    I gasped. “People do that?”
    “What a world we live in, huh?” Jason shook
his head. “Before I even watched the video, I knew you wouldn’t do that to me.
And as soon as the video came out, I knew what was going on. Trust me, you won’t have to worry about Luke or the tabloids for a
very long time.”
    “Well, Luke won’t be coming near me anytime
soon.” I let out a weak laugh. “When I was entering the building earlier,
someone recognized me and shrieked.”
    “I don’t blame them! Frankly, even I’m a little scared of you.”
    I laughed. Wow . It felt good to smile
and laugh again.
    “I missed you.”
    We stared at each other, each wearing goofy
smiles.
    “I missed you too.”
    Jason pulled me in and kissed me slowly on the
lips. He held my head as his thumbs gently stroked my tear-stained cheeks.
    Yes . His kiss was like
a breath of fresh air as I felt like I’d been holding my breath underwater for weeks .
He gave me life again. Jason was in my life again.
    I kissed him as deeply and passionately as I
could, showing him how much I missed him, how much
I wanted him .
    He pulled me in closer, wrapping his arm
gently around my waist. But despite how amazing the kiss was I couldn’t get