Page 17 of Back to You
It all depended on Vincent.
Ronan was early.He and Vincent had agreed to meet at three PM in the little park in front of the library, but it was only two-thirty, and Ronan couldn’t see Vincent anywhere.He needed something to distract himself before he started freaking out, so he walked to the coffee shop.He still remembered Vincent’s order, even after all these years.It might have changed, but Vincent had always loved coffee, no matter what form it came in.There was a good chance he’d enjoy whatever Ronan picked up.
The weather was turning colder, but Ronan got two iced coffees.He figured that it would be better to drink something slightly melted than cold coffee that had been sitting there for half an hour.He shouldn’t have worried, though.As soon as he stepped out of the coffee shop, clutching both cups, he saw Vincent walk into the park.
He wasn’t sure the area could even be called a park.There was a bit of grass, a few trees, and two benches.The swing at the back attracted children, but it was empty right now, which was a relief.There was a man walking his dog, but he didn’t pay attention to Ronan and Vincent.
That was good.Ronan didn’t want to make a scene, but he had no idea how he would react to whatever Vincent was about to tell him.Maybe he should have done this in pack territory, after all.At least there, he could have cried or screamed or whatever.
It was too late to go back.They were both here, and Vincent had sat on one of the benches.That meant he was facing Ronan now, and when he looked up, their gazes crossed and held.
It was obvious that years had passed since the last time they’d seen each other.Vincent wasn’t old, but he wasn’t the mid-twenties guy he’d been when Ronan had first met him.He was in his thirties now, and he looked confident and even more handsome.It hurt Ronan’s heart to see how much he’d missed because of Fulton.
But he wouldn’t allow Vincent’s father to ruin their life any more than he had already.Fulton was gone, but Vincent and Ronan weren’t, and they’d found each other again.There was no reason to allow Fulton to continue hurting them.
There was a chance that Vincent had someone new in his life.Ronan had never moved on, but he’d thought his mate was dead.Vincent had believed that Ronan didn’t want him for years.He was also human, which meant that while he felt the bond, he didn’t feel it as strongly as Ronan did.He hadn’t said anything about having a boyfriend, but there was a chance he did.Ronan couldn’t know what was about to be said between them, and he was suddenly scared.
But not so scared that he’d walk away.
He squared his shoulders and put one foot in front of the other.He never looked away from Vincent, just like Vincent never looked away from him.They stared at each other as Ronan walked to the bench and held out the coffee he’d gotten for Vincent.“I hope your tastes haven’t changed too much,” he murmured.
Vincent took the coffee with a grateful smile.“They haven’t.I still love coffee.”
“That’s what I was hoping for.”Ronan hesitated, then slid onto the bench next to Vincent.“It’s good to see you.”
Vincent had been about to take a sip of coffee, but instead, he snorted.“You thought I was dead.I can imagine how good it is to see me.”
“Almost as much as it’s good for you to see me, I imagine.You really thought I abandoned you?”That wasn’t how Ronan had been planning on starting the conversation, but they were here to get answers from each other.They needed to startsomewhere.
* * * *
VINCENT HAD KNOWN THATquestion was coming.It made sense.He and Ronan had been together a few years before all of this happened, and they were mates.Vincent should have known better than to think that Ronan would ghost him.He should’ve known his father had been involved.
He looked down at his coffee.It was just the way he liked it.Ronan remembered, even after all these years.It made Vincent think about what Ronan’s life had been like, thinking he was dead.He’d thought he’d been hurt over losing Ronan, but he imagined that was nothing next to what Ronan had felt losing him.At least Vincent had thought that Ronan wanted to leave.Part of him had wanted Ronan to be unhappy and miserable without him, but another part wouldn’t have wanted Ronan to stay if he didn’t want to.He’d thought Ronan was happy somewhere.
He hadn’t been.
“Initially, I didn’t,” he said.“I didn’t want to think you could leave me.I’m your mate, and I know that means a lot to you.I tried to find you.I thought something had happened to you, and I spent days calling hospitals and clinics, hoping you’d be there, even though I didn’t want you to be hurt.I couldn’t find you anywhere.I even hired a PI, but his results were the same.You were just gone.”
“I was in a cage.”
Vincent swallowed.He didn’t know how Ronan had survived it, but he was glad his mate had.Even if he and Ronan never got back together, he wanted Ronan to have a good life.He hoped that life would be with him, and there was a good chance it would be, but it was too soon to tell.They had too many things to tell each other and too many feelings to analyze and understand.
“You don’t know how sorry I am for what my father did to you,” Vincent said.He was afraid to look at Ronan.
He remembered the last time he’d seen him before yesterday.Ronan had been leaving for work.He’d leaned over the bed to kiss Vincent, and Vincent had tempted him to come back to bed.Ronan hadn’t because he was a responsible adult, but he’d kissed Vincent thoroughly and had promised he’d give him whatever he wanted when they both came home that night.Vincent had gone to work with that promise on his mind.
His world had collapsed that same day.He’d come home to find that all of Ronan’s things were gone.He’d been hurt and confused, but initially, he hadn’t thought that Ronan would leave him.It didn’t make sense.He also hadn’t thought that his father could be involved, but he should have.He should have known Fulton wouldn’t allow him to be happy when it went against what Fulton wanted for him.
Vincent swallowed.“I looked for you for weeks.Peter had to sit me down and tell me that it wasn’t healthy.I wasn’t eating.I wasn’t sleeping.I jumped every time there was a noise in the apartment because I thought you were back.I refused to accept what was happening.I couldn’t believe that you’d leave me.”
Ronan slowly nodded.He didn’t say that he wouldn’t have.They both knew it now.
“I spent all my money on the search for you,” Vincent continued.“I got kicked out of our apartment because I lost my job and couldn’t pay rent.I had to stay with Peter for a while, which is when he saw the extent of how badly I was taking it.He eventually told me that you’d left me and weren’t coming back and that I needed to accept it.”
Ronan growled, but Vincent wasn’t afraid.He’d never been afraid of Ronan.“He was trying to help me,” Vincent explained.“I was self-destructing, and Peter didn’t want to lose me, too.”
Ronan sighed.“I understand.I don’t like it, but I’m glad you had him.”
