Page 122 of Honor

I gaze down at the picture of a man I assume is his grandfather. “Is that your granddad?”

He nods. “Buster Aitken.”

“He looks kind.”

He smiles at me. “Kind, strong, hard-working, forgiving. He only wanted the best for me, and I let him down.”

I motion for him to take a seat on the couch. “Why do you think that?”

He stops just short of the piece of furniture and shakes his head. “I used to sit on this and watch movies with my sister and grandparents. Then, one day, I decided that wasn’t important anymore.”

I can tell this house is a source of pain for him, and yet I can’t bring myself to suggest we leave. I’ve never seen him this vulnerable or this open. This is the Reid I’ve longed for. This is the man I knew existed beneath the gruff exterior he presents to the world.

“Priorities change when we grow up,” I offer as words of solace. “I’m sure your grandparents knew you loved them still.”

He sets the picture frame down on the table. “I didn’t tell them often enough. I should have said it ten times every day so they knew how much I appreciated everything they did for me; so they knew how much I loved them.”

I’ve heard that regret can eat at a person’s soul. I’m witnessing that now.

Before I know what’s happening, his hands are cupping my face. He tilts my head up slightly until our eyes meet. “I will never make that mistake again. I love you, Evangeline. I need you to know how much I love you.”

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

Evie

I stare at him,unsure if I heard him correctly. He must sense that because he repeats it, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I say because those words have been living in my heart for weeks. “I do love you.”

He kisses me softly. It’s tender and contains just a whisper of what I now know he feels for me. “I need to explain about Charlotte and Randall because I get why you thought I was a ruthless bastard the other day.”

“Well, to be fair, I’ve thought you were a ruthless bastard at other times, too.”

He huffs out a laugh. “Understood.”

“I know Vidori is the most important thing to you.” I take a breath as soon as the words rush out of me.

Still holding my face in his hands, he looks into my eyes. “It was for a very long time. You’re most important now. You. Just you.”

Speechless, I feel my bottom lip tremble from pure emotion.

He kisses me again. “I spoke to Randall right before I came here. I told him about my plans to buy out Azelius and Emmel’s. I tried to tell him I no longer wanted either because those deals would always be a reminder of the first time I let you down.”

Stunned by that, I take a deep breath. “You’re willing to pass on big deals like that for me?”

“You’re most important,” he repeats. “That’s never going to change.”

“Okay.” I smile. “I’m most important.”

He nods. “As it turns out, Randall understood it all from a business aspect, but neither of those companies is leaving our favorite couples’ hands.”

“No?”

“Randall’s sisters will run the spa. Charlotte and Randall are going to work together at Emmel’s.”

I’m tempted to tell him that could mean I’ll end up leaving Vidori to work at Emmel’s when my contract expires, but this is not the time. Besides, nothing is set in stone yet.

“I’m happy for them,” I say, and then expand on that, “I’m happy for everything for them. The wedding, the house next door, and that they’ll build Emmel’s into what Charlotte envisions together.”

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