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“You are a stubborn, stubborn woman.” Pierce took my elbow and tugged me away from the door so he could shut out the storm. Then he leveled me with a scowl that—damn it—only made him look hotter. “Come inside.”
Cutting Pierce that check hadn’t been easy, but dreams meant sacrifices,
My dreams were crumbling to dust and I just . . . I didn’t have a fight. Not anymore. And against Pierce, I’d never win.
Fight. Don’t give up. As the fire crackled and the storm raged beyond the windows, I grabbed my emotions with an iron fist. There would be no crying. If I gave up now, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.
“I want you to listen to me. One more time. I want you to hear me out. Because I need you to take a chance. On me.”
“Because I won’t let myself fail. The truth is, I don’t have a lot of tools in my arsenal. But I work hard. I am ambitious. And though my five-year plan isn’t infallible, it’s solid.”
Memory was a cruel companion to temptation.
“I’m going to keep apologizing. It’s who I am. I don’t like being a burden or a nuisance.”
“Why can’t I stop thinking about you?” I froze and met his gaze. “I don’t know. But it’s probably the same reason I can’t stop thinking about you.”
I’d mourned my lost pregnancy more than I’d mourned my broken engagement. That day had been the single worst day of my life. On my bad days, I always reminded myself that I’d survived much worse.
I wasn’t settling for contentment. I wanted love. I wanted passion. I wanted a man who stole my breath when he walked into the kitchen. Who kissed me and made the world melt away. Who would make every day an adventure.
We all heal at our own pace.”
am hanging on by a thread here, babe.” “What if I wanted you to kiss me? What if you did? What if you let go of that thread for as long as we’re stranded together? What if—”
Kissing her was reckless.
I wanted Kerrigan while I still had the ability to want for myself. “You are beautiful beyond words.”
There was something here, something deeper than either of us had expected. She was more potent than any drug. She was more addictive than any game. She was more powerful than money. Tonight wasn’t enough. But it would have to be. So I swept her off the couch and into my arms, carrying her to my bedroom. If I could never forget this night, neither would she.
Whatever pain it caused was mine alone to bear.
My eyes roved over his face, committing every perfect piece to memory. The square line of his jaw. The beard that felt like sin against my skin. The sparkle in his eyes and the way he looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the world.
It was wholly unsettling and powerful aimed my way. And it was heartbreaking to come from a man who wasn’t mine to keep.
Some time to get my bearings, because everything seemed to have shifted. How did life change so quickly? Days. That was all I’d had with Pierce. Days. But it was like I’d stepped off a cliff to return to reality.
My happiness wasn’t little.
“You came back.” “I did.” “Why?” He blew out a long breath. “For you.”
“There’s that brave face I admire so much.” I stepped in closer. “You wear it for everyone. You don’t need to wear it for me.”
“I would have leaned on you. Too much. I was afraid, Kerr. I was goddamn terrified. I couldn’t fail. And the only way I knew I wouldn’t fail him, fail you, was to put some blinders on and just focus.”
“You needed to fall in love with him.” He nodded. “I was scared that if I was too busy falling in love with you, I wouldn’t fall in love with my son.” The world tilted. The anger vanished. He’d been falling in love with me. I hadn’t been alone in this. Somehow that was the realization that soothed the most.
missed you too.” “Never again. No more time apart. For the rest of our lives, where we go, we go together.”
“Kerr,” he whispered, the playfulness gone from his voice. “I’m in love with you.” I locked my eyes with his and whatever fears I’d had earlier were . . . gone. There hadn’t been a time in my life when I’d wanted to say it. Not like this. “I’m in love with you too.”
