Page 43 of Unofficial

"And you don't love someone months after they leave your ass," Landry spits back.

No, he loved her before that. He just never let himself accept it, but he sure as hell doesn’t plan to tell this asshole he loves her today. "I don't want to live without her anymore. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to get her back into my life."

"You just want everything she gave you again, but you don't want her. You just want someone who might be willing to put up with such a shit person like you. A person who thought they saw something in you once upon a time, but she was wrong. You're still just a shit person."

"Stop it," Jess says, finally speaking. "That's not fair. You don't know anything about him other than how he hurt me. It doesn't make him a saint, but you can't call him a shit person."

Landry stares at her in disgust. "You're defending him?"

"I’m saying you don't know him well enough to say what kind of person he is. What type of boyfriend, or whatever you want to call what he was, okay, that's fine. He was a shit boyfriend. But you don't know anything about his life to say something so definitive about him as a person."

"What type of person is he, Jess?"

Swallowing, she glances at Kade. "The type of person who had a difficult childhood, but he figured out how to move past it. In some ways, not always the healthiest, but he did. He's the type of person who will drop anything for his family if they need him. He's the type of person who never misses a school play or concert or sporting game for his cousins. That's not a shit person, Landry."

"Do you still have feelings for him?"

Kade's heart races as he stares at her. Here's the moment of truth. Is he simply making a fool of himself, or does he have a chance? Even a glimmer of hope?

"I don't know."

That's not the answer Landry wanted, but Kade will take it. He almost smiles with happiness. I don't know isn't no.

Landry shakes his head and steps back towards the door. "You don't know? What do you know, Jess?"

"I know he shook my faith in men. But I did genuinely fall in love with him before he broke me."

"And you're willing to entertain this man after that? Because of him, I had to put in double work to prove I'm not just like him. I paid the price for his mistakes, and now you're not sure how you feel?"

Her jaw drops, and Kade knows there's something more going on than he realizes. And the hurt in her eyes makes him wish he'd have punched this man while he was in front of him.

"You're upset because I made you wait," she says.

"I'm pissed because this man had you so torn up, you wouldn't let me know where you lived for almost three weeks! And then you go and defend this asshole? Yeah, I'm pissed. I'm pissed that I put in time with someone who clearly isn't on the same page as me."

"You attacked his character!" she cries. "I'll defend anyone who's being wrongly accused of something. I get you're upset, and I'm sorry you feel like I punished you by making sure I protected myself before letting you all the way in, in all sense of the word, but you stepped over the line."

He shakes his head and snarls. "You need to figure out what the hell you want. I deserve someone who's all in, not this person who can't decide how she feels."

"Woah, back up a second, buddy," Kade says.

"I'm not your buddy."

Ain't that the truth? "She didn't invite me over here. I saw her today because I needed to talk to her. I showed up unannounced, and she told me to leave because you were coming over. She let you in after I asked her not to, so get off your damned high horse. I hear your tone, and this isn't her fault. It's mine. You wanna be pissed? Be pissed at me."

"You have to decide, Jess. What do you want? Do you want someone who puts your heart through a blender or someone who's been here, all in, since day one?" Landry says. "Once you decide, let me know."

Kade stares at him in shock. "You're not gonna fight?"

"I can't fight for someone who doesn't know if she wants me or an asshat who broke her heart. What's the point?"

"The point is showing her you're willing to do whatever it takes to keep her. I lost her, and I want her back. I know firsthand how it feels to lose this woman, and you will regret it if you just leave without putting in a solid effort."

"What are you doing?" Jess asks. "I don't understand this."

Kade turns to her. "I don't want to be a consolation prize just because he gave up on you. If you choose me, I want it to be because you see how much I care about you. How much I'm willing to fight for you and prove I've changed. And if he really cares about you like he claims, he'll make this decision as difficult as possible for you because it should be difficult. You deserve the world, Jess. I'm just sorry I didn't see it before."

Her eyes look between them, and she shakes her head. "You're right, Landry. You do deserve someone who's all in. Kade, you're also right. I deserve the world."

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