QUOTE : I learned to live by structure so I know what to expect. I control everything around me to maintain some level of stability. I put up walls to keep people from hurting me. Walls I’ve never taken down, not for anyone.” “If you’re trying to scare me away, it’s not working.” His words started an ache behind her eyes. Was that what she was trying to do? Even now? Scare him away? Self-sabotage? He curled a finger under her chin and turned her toward him. His eyes said so much. That all those things, all her faults didn’t matter. That he loved her enough to walk beside her as she worked through them. That he saw beyond her flaws to the woman she was deep inside. That he wasn’t going to let go so easily. “I don’t know how this is going to turn out,” she whispered. “Life is uncertain.” “I might make things difficult. There’s a part of me that, no matter how much I want your love, I want to run from it at the same time.” “Say that again.” She swallowed around the knot in her throat. “I want to run from it.” “Other part.” She rewound her words. “How much I want your love?” His lips relaxed, curled slightly upward. “That’s the part.” The ache behind her eyes turned into a sharp sting, and he blurred in front of her. “I do want your love, but I’m afraid—” “Stop saying that.” A tear rolled down Meridith’s face, and she brushed it away. “If you guard your emotions, you’ll miss out on the best things of life—joy, excitement . . . love. Fear is just an opportunity to be courageous.” “But what if I’m not courageous?” She bit her quivering lip. “God will give you courage.” Would