Page 66 of Tequila Tuesdays

Damien whispered in my ear. “I’m sorry it’s so late.”

“It’s okay. I’m glad you came.” My voice was raspy with sleep. “You’re welcome to stay. There’s a new toothbrush on my bathroom counter, and clean towels on the left rack.”

He froze above me, and I was suddenly wide awake. “I thought we’d just sleep, but if you don’t want to stay—”

“No, I want to. I was just surprised I didn’t have to talk you into it, that’s all.”

I relaxed into my pillow and closed my eyes. “Okay. Good.”

He didn’t say anything for a minute. Then he squeezed my waist. “Harley, tonight we’ll sleep. But if you let me into your bed, from now on it won’t be to just sleep.” He leaned over and murmured in my ear. “I’m trying to be patient. But I feel like a fifteen-year-old again. I want to fuck you every time I’m near you.”

I was suddenly wide awake. I sat up, and he sat down on the bed next to me.

Letting out a long breath, I grasped his arm. “Yes. I feel the same.” I rubbed my sternum. “But I need to tell you a few things. And I know it’s late.” I felt him tense next to me. “It’s nothing bad. But… It’s been over five years since I’ve been with anyone.”

He sucked in a breath. “Shit, sweetheart. Why so long?” He put his arm around me and pulled me to his side. “I knew it’d been a while. But five years?”

“You know about my fiancé, Ryan.” He nodded. “After he died, I just… couldn’t. And then I went to law school, and it’s not smart to start anything there.”

“And the fucking bet,” he finished.

“Yes.” I sighed.

“How did he die?” he asked quietly.

I slowly leaned forward and put my elbows on my knees. The familiar guilt and regret slid through me, and I cleared my throat. “We were coming back from one of my volleyball tournaments late one night. Ava was in a bad place again, and Olivia was a senior in high school and had gone out of town for some school function or something. I thought I needed to get back to check on Ava, so we didn’t stay overnight.”

He ran his hand down my back. “What happened?”

I sat up and turned to look at him in the dark. “Ryan said he was fine to drive. He’d had an energy drink, and heseemedfine. But he didn’t wear his seatbelt sometimes, and to this day I still don’t know why he didn’t have it on that night.”

We’d had a couple of heated discussions about it while we were together, and he’d gotten better about wearing it. But I couldn’t remember telling him to put it on that night. It was my single biggest regret that me reminding him might have saved him.

I continued. “He must have drifted into oncoming traffic, or the other driver drifted into us. No one knows. The other driver was an older gentleman who was coming back from his grandson’s birthday party.”

“You don’t need to finish,” Damien murmured, rubbing his hand down my back.

“It’s okay. I was dead asleep in the passenger seat, and the next thing I knew I was jerked back by my seatbelt and the airbag. It was bad. I think the other man died on impact, and Ryan was partially ejected.” I swallowed.

Closing my eyes, it all came rushing back. The smell of the powdery substance in the airbag. The feel of the seatbelt strangling me in the dark. The red and blue lights from the emergency vehicles, and the EMTs working over Ryan’s body.

But I knew from the way his skull was crushed on one side, Ryan was already gone.

I continued in a halting voice. “I dislocated my shoulder, cut my cheekbone, and suffered from whiplash and a few other cuts. The cars made impact, then spun. And somehow, I was spared.”

Damien pulled me into him. “That explains the scar.” He cupped my cheek. “I’m so fucking sorry, sweetheart.”

He didn’t tell me not to feel guilty or blame myself. He didn’t say things happened for a reason, which I’d particularly hated. Everything happened for a reason, and some of those reasons were downright shitty and senseless sometimes. Damien just sat with me in the dark and offered silent comfort.

Eventually, I pulled back and shifted to look at him. “It’s been a long time, and I’m doing much better now.” Maybe that was stretching it a little, but I was in a better place.

“Thank you for telling me. It also explains a few things about you that didn’t make sense before.”

I cocked my head. “Like what?”

“Like why a smart, sweet, beautiful, athletic attorney with a successful practice isn’t already taken.”

“Hmmm, thanks. I think?” I blushed in the dark. “I’ve thought the same thing. You had a long-term girlfriend, and I know you’ve… dated since then. But you’re not with anyone either.”

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