Page 53 of Reformation

Oh, who am I kidding? I quit being mad at him the second he walked in.

“Come on, Anthony. Let’s finish in my room,” Cassie says.

“Why?”

“Because Dr. Dixon and Miss Blackstone have a lot to talk about.”

“Is it about the thing that happened after the thing?”

My face goes red and Cassie hurries to gather the rest of his stuff. “Yes. Now let’s go.”

I mouth a “thank you” to her as she shuts the door.

“So you use bad pickup lines on women and dad jokes on kids? Is that your thing?”

“Depends. Does it work?”

“That’s to be determined,” I say, standing to come around from my desk, offering him the only seat in my classroom that doesn’t make him look like a giant. Luckily, I don’t look completely ridiculous sitting in tiny human chairs.

It’s a Wednesday afternoon, so he should be at the office. But he’s here in casual clothes. His beard is longer than the last time I saw him, which only makes him even sexier. I wonder what it would feel like against my…

“I’m so sorry I haven’t called, Paige. I… the last few days have been a lot.”

Thank goodness he started speaking. My thoughts would have gone down the gutter real quick. Which is not appropriate for the fact that we are sitting around my class’s reading circle.

“I understand. But I’ve been worried about you, Garrett. And yes, maybe a little mad that you haven’t called. I wish you… I mean, I know you…”

I don’t know what I’m trying to say, but apparently I make myself clear as he reaches for both my hands, enveloping them in his. He takes his thumbs and gently rubs them over my knuckles, immediately soothing my worries.

“I know. And I should have called or messaged you. At least to tell you that I was OK. I’ve just… I’ve had a lot to deal with the past few days and I needed to do that on my own.”

“What happened? When you confronted Trevor?”

He tells me everything. His confrontation with Trevor and Annika. How Trevor admitted to the affair. How he took this week off from the practice to get his affairs in order and officially file for divorce.

“Wow. You’ve been busy.”

He smiles, a small one, but the first I’ve seen on him since we were at the restaurant last week.

“I have. That’s still no excuse for not getting a hold of you. We kissed, Paige. We spent the night together and then I basically disappeared.”

And there it is. The moment I’ve been hoping and dreading since he walked into my classroom. Heck, since he left my house on Sunday.

“That wasn’t how I wanted our first kiss to be. I wanted it to be romantic. Anticipated. A moment that neither of us would forget. I didn’t want it to be out of pity or because I was the pathetic guy who showed up at your house drunk and sad.”

“You know it wasn’t a pity kiss, right?” I interrupt.

He nods. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t feel bad about it. I meant what I said that night. I’m not good enough for you. You amaze me every day with your kindness and your heart. Your beauty takes my breath away every time I see you. Sometimes it’s hard looking at you because you are so damn beautiful and all I want to do is make you mine. You are the best person I know… that I have ever met. You can do so much better than a twice-divorced man with workaholic issues and baggage that weighs a ton. Oh, and I’m also selfish. Very selfish. Which is why I want you, Paige. I want you all for myself. Because even though I’m not worthy, and there are hundreds of men who would be better for you, the thought of my life going forward without you is unthinkable.”

It takes every ounce of strength in my body to not fall apart at this man’s feet. I want to cry, throw my arms around him and say “yes.” That I will go on this journey with him. That I want him in my life as much as he says he wants me. That I don’t ever want to go another three days without speaking to him again.

But there is one thing that I have to say. And he needs to hear it.

“I know you have meant every word you have said. So have I. I don’t care about your past. I care about the man you are now. Today. And the one you want to be in the future.”

He smiles, like my words were absolutely what he needed to hear.

“Garrett, I know that you have things you are working on. I see the man you are trying to be, and that’s the man I’m falling for. That’s the man I want in my life.”

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