Redeeming 6 (Boys of Tommen, #4)

by Chloe Walsh

“You’re honestly trying to tell me that those two aren’t in love?” “I never said they weren’t in love.” Chuckling, she added, “Only that they’re not together.”

Our eyes met, green on green, and he winked at me from across the room. And just like that, I was ruined.

“You can’t tell me what to do, Joe,” I growled, feeling a combination of drunk and dizzy. “You don’t own me.” “Well, that’s bad fucking luck on my account, because you sure as shit own me!”

“Why would you say that to me?” “Because it’s the truth.” “Since when?” “Since I was twelve.”

Because every part of me loved every part of her. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

“It’s you,” he repeated gruffly, fingers tightening on my waist. “I pick you. Every single time.”

“I’ll love you the right way this time,” he whispered, and his breath fanned my cheek. “If you’ll show me how.”

“I’m not your mother or your sister. I’m not another girl who needs something from you. I’m the girl who wholeheartedly wants you. I’m the girl who wholeheartedly loves you. The hurler. The mechanic. The boy. The protector. The asshole. The lover. The addict.”

Finally, when I had the pain under control, I stood up, dusted myself off, and walked away, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders with every step that I took away from doing the right thing.

“I’ve loved your daughter for six years,” Joey finally broke his silence by saying. “I can easily love her for another eighteen.”

“Joe’s the only parent I remember having, so trust me when I tell you that your kid…” He paused to gesture to my stomach before adding, “Is going to have one hell of a father.”

“I have them, Joey.” Four words that shook the foundations I was standing on, followed swiftly by four more. “I got them out.”

He had them? My kids? He had them? “You got them out?”