Things We Left Behind (Knockemout, #3)

by Lucy Score

“As your father liked to say, ‘We can’t drink all day if we don’t start now.’”

It was strange, having a secret with the boy I’d once loved and now sharing it with the man I couldn’t stand.

Hope. Some of us didn’t get the luxury of hope. Some of us weren’t worthy of it.

“Please tell me you can barely walk because he unleashed his undiluted reservoir of manly testosterone on you,”

embracing the messiness of life is where you find its greatest treasures.”

And every time we touched, no matter how innocently, part of me wished for more. But that wasn’t an option. I was broken and she was beautiful.

“Girl, I don’t know what’s happening right now, but I’m a nurse and if you don’t go home with Tall, Dark, and Tight Crotch, I’m gonna check you for head trauma.”

“This is the dumbest, hottest mistake I’ve ever made,” I moaned.

“I worry that you prioritize winning over happiness, and I don’t know if you’ll be satisfied with winning at the expense of everything else.”

I see the way you look at her like she’s the goddamn sun and you’re not supposed to stare directly at her but you can’t help yourself.”

“You love me, you idiot. You’ve loved me since we were kids. You loved me even when I broke your trust. You loved me after I fixed it. You still love me.”

“I loved you. You know? When we were kids, I loved you. And I think I could have again.”

“I remember every second of us.”

“Work your therapy magic and fix her,” Lucian announced, taking a stance near the fireplace.

“Loving you has been a touchstone for more than half my life. But being loved by you? That’s a fucking miracle. You, Pixie, are my fucking miracle.”

Marry me. Be my wife. Remind me every day that I’m better than I think I am. Show me what it’s like to be loved by you. Because that’s all I ever wanted. To be good enough for you.”

If I could have chosen a son in this lifetime, it would have been you. Take care of my girls.