Page 28 of Lore
I smile at that. Rider is indeed very protective of his little sister.
“They are good kids, and that’s all on you,” he says, looking back out over the water.
“Yeah, they are.” I decide to lighten the mood. “It would be nice if Rider took after me in some way, though. I was basically just an incubator.”
His laugh is throaty.
Rich.
Fucking attractive.
“Yeah, your genes didn’t stand a chance. Dove is perfect just like you, though.” I think I hear him mutter something that sounds like ‘thank fuck’ under his breath.
I smirk at that. “We better get back.”
He nods and stands up, offering me his hand. When I accept it, he raises it at the same time he lowers his face and kisses my knuckles softly. “Do you think you could ever forgive me, Butterfly?”
“For what?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
We’ve been avoiding this conversation, and I know it’s been the elephant in the room between us.
“For breaking us. For being too young and stupid to realize what I had. For wanting to see if the grass was greener on the other side,” Lore admits, his violet eyes locked on mine. There’s no teasing there, no mockery.
He sincerely wants to know.
“And was it?” I ask.
“Was what?”
“The grass greener…”
He shakes his head, but I laugh without humor, standing up and looking him dead in the eye. “If that were true, Lore, you’d have come back to me. Apologized. Tried to work things out.” I step closer to him, pressing up against his hard body. “But you didn’t because you loved the freedom.”
“The grass is greener where you water it, baby. I was young and made a mistake. And I’m paying for that. I wasn’t ready for you then… right girl, wrong timing, but I’m ready now. And I’m going to make it up to you, if you just let me.”
I purse my lips. “You know, I came back once to tell you about Rider.”
His brows knit together, a strange look flashing across his face. “What do you mean?”
“I came to the club to tell you I was pregnant. I felt guilty, I guess. I knew that you deserved to know. I parked across the road and was about to get out and head inside, but then you came out.”
My throat starts to close as I remember it as if it were yesterday. “You were with two women, your arms around each one. You were obviously leaving with both of them. And you were happy, Lore. You were laughing, smiling?—”
“Butterfly…”
“I watched you walk away with them, and I tried to force myself to get out of the car. To tell you. But I froze. I felt sick.”
“Baby,” he whispers, his voice so soft.
Something passes between us.
Something that should have died a long time ago.
“I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know you anymore. You made your choice, and you were happy. I sat in that car for about two hours, deciding what to do. And when I finally drove away, that was that. I made the choice for both of us, which was wrong of me, I know. But at the time, it felt nothing but right.”
He pulls me against him, wrapping his arms around me, and I feel his body trembling. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Me too.” I sigh, burying my face into his chest. “And yes, I forgive you.”
