I swallowed.
“But I don’t want to spend another year pretending I don’t feel something just because the truth is inconvenient.”
I took a step toward her.
“Karen, I’m twenty-eight.”
“I know.”
“You’ve known me since I was eighteen.”
“I remember.”
“Your son has seen me eat food off the floor.”
“Only because you dropped it.”
“This is a very poor foundation for romance.”
She laughed.
Then she became serious again.
“I am not asking you to promise me anything. I’m asking you to be honest.”
I looked into her eyes.
“I’m falling in love with you.”
Her lips parted. I continued before I could lose my nerve.
“And I’m terrified of what that means for Daniel. I’m terrified that people will think I’m taking advantage of you. I’m terrified that we’ll get this wrong and lose things we can never get back.”
She nodded.
“I’m afraid of those things too.”
