Restless (Relentless Series Book 2) by Alyson Reynolds

wouldn't hold back. I would let the words flow and not be scared of my feelings.
     
    Stephen,
    I miss you so much. It's not just missing you though; part of my soul is missing without you. I’ve been so stupid. Pushing you away was the worst mistake of my life. You've always meant more to me than I let myself admit.
    When I was fifteen, I caught my mother having an affair. I begged her to tell my father and go get counseling for their marriage. She laughed at me and told me I had a very naive view of what a real marriage should be like. To her, marriage to my father was only a means to an end. He provided money and status and she used him for it.
    She also said I should never settle in a marriage and that I should only be with someone for what they could give me. For years I had to listen to her toxic opinions about love, marriage, cheating, and relationships. It scared me. It actually did more than that, it made me terrified to let someone into my heart because I was afraid of what they might do. While I never believed myself capable of the shit she pulled, I knew that it was possible someone might hurt me if I opened up.
    When I found the ring, it made every insecurity I had come flying back. Not because I thought you would hurt me, but because I was terrified of the future. What happened if I became so blinded by you and you cheated on me? I would be lost. Absolutely devastated. Or what if you decided you didn't want to be with me anymore because I wasn't enough for you?
    It didn’t matter that I trust you more than I trust myself. In order to fall in love with you I would have to let my guard down enough to let someone know the real me. This is about more than me or you. Part of the problem is that I’ve already fallen in love with you. I’ve been battling what I want versus not hurting you because honestly, I don’t know that I will ever be ready for a real, amazing, perfect relationship.
    For you I want to try though. If you are still willing to help me conquer my fears I want all of that with you. I want what Jaxon and Violet have. I want to be that couple everyone else is jealous of. Please don’t give up on me, Stephen. Save me, like you've always said you wanted to.
     
                                                                          I’ll always love you,
                                                                          Taylor 
     

Violet had agreed with me to go have coffee with Rhys. I wanted to make sure it was a group setting, plus she was curious about my new friend. We sat around the table at the little diner and my elbow constantly brushed against his. Each little touch was a spark between us. The conversation had been good until Vi made a snarky comment about my work.
    “Seriously, I’m only twenty-five, why do I have to have everything figured out? I make enough money to live off of my writing. Isn’t that acceptable to be considered a career?”
    She frowned. “Don’t you want to do more?”
    “Not necessarily. I enjoy being able to work from anywhere. It's easy to pick up and go to New York for a weekend if I want. There’s nothing to hold me back.”
    “But you write blog posts. Are they even still relevant?” she challenged.
    “I still read blogs, and quite a few people make money from them,” Rhys chimed in. I shot Violet a triumphant smirk.
    “Vi, I know you’re concerned, but I promise I’m not bored and I’m not living off my trust fund. I enjoy writing, and not everything I write is blog posts. I freelance so I’m not tied down. Hell if I want to write a novel about my insane relationship issues or my annoying sister, I could.”
    “There’s the real root of the issue. You’re so restless Taylor. You can't choose just one thing to focus on.”
    I took a sip of my coffee, trying to mask my irritation. It annoyed me that everything