Page 49 of Restored By the Mountain Man
I manage a weak laugh. "No, probably not."
"Come on," she says, grabbing the remote. "Let's watch something completely mindless and romantic while we eat our feelings. Tomorrow we can figure out whether Ezra Hunter deserves another chance or if we're shopping for moving boxes."
We settle on a ridiculous romantic comedy about a woman who inherits a Christmas tree farm and falls in love with the grumpy neighbor who's trying to buy her land. It's exactly the kind of formulaic sweetness we need right now, and I feel some of the tension leave my shoulders as I get lost in someone else's happily ever after.
We're halfwaythrough the movie, debating whether the male lead is more attractive than any of the Hunters when there's a knock at the door.
"Expecting someone?" Laurel asks, pausing the movie.
"No." My heart starts pounding. "What if Tom's parents came back?"
"I'll handle it," Laurel says, standing and moving toward the door. "You stay put."
I hear her open the door then hear an immediate "Oh hell no," followed by the sound of the door slamming shut.
"Laurel, please," a familiar voice says, and my breath catches. "I need to talk to her."
Ezra.
"You need to get the hell off this porch before I call Grayson to come remove you," Laurel snaps. "You've done enough damage for one day."
"I know I fucked up," Ezra's voice is rough, desperate. "I know I hurt her, and I hate myself for it. But please, just give me five minutes to apologize. To explain."
"You had your chance to explain when you were screaming at her in your house," Laurel retorts. "Instead, you chose to be a complete ass."
"Laurel," I call from the couch, my voice barely steady. "It's okay. Let him in."
"No," she calls back. "You don't owe him anything, Zo."
"Let him in," I repeat, standing on shaky legs. "I need to hear what he has to say."
There's a long pause, then I hear Laurel's warning voice. "You have five minutes, Hunter. And if you make her cry again, I'm siccing all your brothers on you."
The door opens wider, and Ezra steps into the cabin. He looks terrible. His hair is disheveled like he's been running his hands through it, his eyes are red-rimmed, and his usual confident posture has been replaced by something that looks almost broken.
When his eyes find mine, the pain in them is so raw it takes my breath away.
"Zoe," he whispers, taking a tentative step forward before stopping himself. "I'm so sorry. I'm so fucking sorry for the way I spoke to you."
"You should be," Laurel mutters from her position by the door, arms crossed and radiating protective fury.
Ezra doesn't take his eyes off me. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. I know I probably don't deserve another chance. But I had to come here and tell you that what happened tonight had nothing to do with you and everything to do with my own cowardice."
I wrap my arms around myself, trying to maintain some emotional distance. "You made me feel like I had violated something sacred. Like I was an intruder in your life."
"You're not an intruder," he says fiercely. "You're the best thing that's happened to me in three years. You brought me back to life, Zoe. You made me want to be a better man."
"Then why did you treat me like the enemy?"
He runs a hand through his hair, his voice breaking. "Because I was scared. Because seeing you in that room, surrounded by Elizabeth's things, forced me to confront something I wasn't ready to face."
"Which was?"
"That I'm in love with you," he says simply, and my heart stops. "Completely, desperately, forever in love with you. And there you were merging with my past, and that terrified me."
Laurel makes a small sound of surprise, but I barely hear her over the pounding of my heart.
"I've kept that room closed for three years," Ezra continues, his voice gaining strength. "Not because it was a shrine to Elizabeth, but because I was afraid of what I might feel if I faced the future we'd planned together. I was afraid that letting go of that pain would mean letting go of her."
