Page 102 of Takeover

She’s stiff in my arms, but she doesn’t try to walk away either. I take that as a victory. “Forgive me, baby, please. I swear to you I will always make you feel included. I’ll include you in all decisions, and I’ll sooner cut off my own tongue before I hurt you like that again, but Tara, you can’t walk out on me. Yell at me. Hit me with flowers, but don’t leave me. I’m not perfect, baby. I’ll probably do stupid things in the future, but you have to know we’ll work it out.”

I wrap my arms around her, and I exhale a breath of relief when she doesn’t fight me. I kiss the top of her head.

“You really hurt me, Ethan,” she says against my chest, her voice muffled. “That was the worst possible thing you could have said to me. You can’t make it disappear with one apology.”

“I know I did. You’ve given us everything from the very beginning. And I know it will take more than just me saying I’m sorry. I’m going to show you that I’ll never shut you out like that again. Come back home, baby. Please.”

“I don’t know, Ethan. I don’t know if I’m ready for that again. Maybe we moved too fast, you know. Maybe I got too comfortable with—”

“Shh. We didn’t. We’re in love and that will never change. Whether you come back to the penthouse or not, you’re my home. I’ll go wherever you are. Whatever you want to do, we’ll go at your pace, but I’m not giving up on us.”

I wrap her in my arms in the middle of the room, and she lets me hold her. The stress, fear, and uncertainty I’ve had since she walked out of the penthouse slowly start to evaporate.

“I shouldn’t have walked out, but you told me you wanted to share our lives, and then made me feel like an outsider as soon as I didn’t agree with you. You pretty much told me to mind my own business.”

I pull her in closer and kiss her hair. Guilt and shame overtake me. Since we became a couple, she’s not only loved me but my son too. The reason I didn’t date before her was because I didn’t want someone who only tolerated my son. So, what do I do when I find the perfect woman? I make her feel unimportant.

“I’m so sorry.” I pull away and grab hold of her face. “I swear to you on my life, I will never say anything like that again. I meant what I said. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” She opens her mouth to speak, but I put a finger to her lips.

“Don’t push it,” she says against my finger.

“Oh, do you think you’ll be allowed to unleash your awfulness on all the world? I don’t think so. I told you I’m a humanitarian, so I’m keeping you for myself. And it will happen.” I lean down and rest my forehead on hers. “Forgive me, Tara, please.”

“Why didn’t you tell me she kissed you? It happened almost a week ago. How could you keep that from me?”

“Tara, you have to know you’re the only woman I want. I was angry and disgusted with myself afterwards. I pushed her away immediately and left. And we had so much drama that day. I didn’t want to pile more on top of it.”

“So, does that mean I can’t count on you to tell me things? I deserved to know that. I’m part of this relationship. Now, I don’t know if I can trust you.”

Out of all the ugly things we’ve said to each other since yesterday, that one statement hurts me the most. And the fact that I’m responsible is like a kick in the teeth.

“Sit with me, please.” I take her hand and we walk over to the couch in the front of the suite. “You can trust me. I’m going to prove it to you. The kiss was Lindsay’s pathetic attempt. I pushed her away. I love you. You’re my world. I didn’t keep it from you because it meant something. We were already fighting. She’s already come between us so much, and I was afraid of losing you. I was afraid that you might think that being with me involved too much bullshit. We were already dealing with Lindsay, and then Elizabeth threw another curveball. I kept remembering the words you said to me once. About how you don’t want the baggage of an ex hanging around, so you avoid men with kids. That scared me, Tara. It still scares me, if I’m being honest. The thought of you waking up one day and realizing that I have too much baggage for you. You are our family. You’re the glue that holds us together, baby. Trust me. Things have gone to hell since you left. Vincent won’t even look at me.”

She takes a deep breath and pulls her hand away. She puts her head in her hands and her shoulders sag. “I miss him. This is what I was afraid of. This is why—” She stops talking and stands up, resuming her perch in front of the window.

I stand upright along with her and put my hands on her shoulders. “But you did. You did fall in love with a man with a child, and we fell in love with you. We made a home together. Please, Tara,” I say. I slowly turn her around so she can look into my eyes. “Please, don’t throw away what we’ve built because of a fight. I can’t promise that I won’t say or do something stupid in the future, Tara. It’s pretty much guaranteed that I will, but I promise I will never utter those words I said to you yesterday. And I promise I will make the bed every day from now on. I don’t want to lose you.”

She looks into my eyes like she’s reading me and committing this scene to memory. I hold her stare while I grab her hand and put it on my beating heart.

“Please forgive me.”

Her eyes fill with tears again. She bites her bottom lip and looks away. She nods, and I release a breath in relief.

“Okay, I forgive you. You’re still a dummy, but I forgive you. And I shouldn’t have walked out. I should have stayed and kicked your ass in private.”

“I’m going to kiss you now.” And I do just that. She slides her hands into my hair and when she opens her mouth to me, I finally get a taste of home. I hold her in my arms, her body pressed firmly to mine, and kiss her with everything in me.

“Just so you know,” I say against her mouth. “I’m ready to become Mr. Tara at any time.”

“You’d be so lucky, wouldn’t you? As if I would ever marry an ogre.” I can’t help the relieved laugh that escapes. I pull her closer and wrap my arms around her and feel her beating heart against mine.

56

We walk to the lobby fifteen minutes after his lips landed on mine. I lean into him, his arm wrapped possessively around me. I find my siblings in a corner table immediately, but they aren’t alone. Hunter is there with them, and all three of them laugh at something Vickie says.

“There you two are,” Vickie says to us while Ethan pulls out a chair for me. “I guess the fight is over now. Ethan, this is your only get out of jail free card. You mess with my sister again, and I’m gonna come after you with a baseball bat and a box cutter, not a bouquet of flowers.”

“And I’m going to be her alibi,” Alan says.

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