Page 68 of Jealous Boss

“Baby, I fucked up. Christ, I more than fucked up. I—I should’ve come to you. I shouldn’t have left you there on your own. Please… Pia…”

“I don’t… it’s too late, Ethan.” She tries to close the door, but I block it with my hand.

“No, please. Don’t shut me out. Not yet. Not until I say what I should’ve said the second Philip walked out that door.”

She crosses her arms. “Let me guess. That you’re sorry. That you didn’t mean to put your career above me. That you were just… what? Scared?”

Astute. As al-fucking-ways. “Yes. All of it,” I admit, chest open, heart exposed. “I was scared. Not of losing the partnership. Of being the cause of you losing what was important to you.”

She blinks, lashes wet again. “What are you talking about?”

“I know about your parents. I know you haven’t felt like you belonged anywhere in a long time, hell, maybe ever. I thought that if I caused you to lose Philip, I’d never forgive myself.”

Her look is almost pitying. “But you were forgetting one vital thing.”

I nod. “I know. For a stupid second, I forgot that I belonged to you, just as much as I hope you belong to me. That I would move fucking mountains to be everything and everyone to you so you never had to feel alone again.”

I take a step forward, close enough to feel her trembling.

“I shut you out, let you feel rejected. I wasted a full fucking hour. I didn’t come after you because I thought—God, I thought I had more time. I spent the last hour thinking maybe I could let Philip take you away from me. Give you the home and the care and attention you need. But I can’t. I’m too fucking selfish.Iwantyou. I want to be the one who gives you everything you need, however and whenever you need it. I fucked up, baby, and I’m so fucking sorry.”

Tears slip down her cheeks again. “It was horrible, watching you shut me out like that. I thought my life was over.”

“I know. And I’ve never regretted anything more in my life.”

I fall to my knees. Right there in her doorway. Grip her hips when she doesn’t kick me away like I deserve. “I’m sorry, Pia. I’m sorry I ever made you feel like you were second place. You’re not. You’re first. You’ve always been first since the second I saw you. Hell, you rule my mind and body even when I need a clear head. But I’m done fighting how you make me feel.”

She stares down at me, silent. I gather her close.Closer. Press my forehead to her belly. Look up into her beautiful blue eyes.

“I love you, baby. And I’m not asking you to forgive me now. I’m just asking you to let me prove it. Every day. For as long as you’ll let me.”

There’s a long silence.

She whispers, “You said you would fix it. Then you broke my heart.”

“I know. And I’ll spend the rest of my life putting it back together.”

Her bottom lip trembles. Her arms slowly uncross. She touches my shoulders and my breath shudders out of my lungs.

Her fingers spike into my hair, lifting my chin.

And then—she steps back. “Come in.”

* * *

Pia is curledagainst my chest, still wearing her hoodie, still sobbing softly every few minutes. I don’t know how to make it stop and it’s fucking killing me.

“Baby, please.”

“C’est rien.” She hiccups.

It’s not fucking nothing, I want to snarl, but I keep silent, vowing that once this upheaval is over, she’ll never shed another tear unless they’re joyful ones.

I can’t stop touching her, so I don’t even try.

My fingers slide through the silk of her hair, down the line of her back, over the soft swell of her hip. Every inch of her feels like a miracle I almost lost.That I might still lose.

“I love you,” I murmur into her temple.

---