Page 7 of Lessons In Love
“I’ll just clean this up and grab you another bottle of…” I wave the kid away.
“We’ll be over at the coffee shop,” I say dismissively, holding an arm out to usher Delaney ahead of me.
She closes her eyes, breathing deeply before moving. “Oh, fine.”
I grin, relishing the challenge she’s just set.
She places her order, grabbing cash from her wallet to pay. I tack on my order, handing my card over with a charming smile no woman yet has been able to deny.Except, apparently, Delaney Hawthorne.She glares up at me, tossing the large bill into the tip jar, to the delight of the flustered barista.
She marches off, grabbing a small table on the periphery of the cafe section. She’s watching the shoppers milling around, looking anywhere but at me as I sit down across from her.
I give her a moment, just sitting and watching her. It kills me to think of how I broke her heart ten years ago. What she doesn’t know—couldn’t know—is that I broke my own heart that night, too. It’s just another in a long line of sacrifices my family has made to survive. I couldn’t involve Delaney in the danger and questionable activities that follow us, though I have no doubt she would’ve come willingly, despite everything.
“So…” I start, waiting for her to look at me. I see her jaw clench, but finally she looks up, locking eyes with me. Fire burns inside of her as she watches me, waiting to see what I’ll say.
“How have you been, Laney?” I wince when I use her nickname.
“Don’t youdare,” she hisses quietly. “You don’t get to call me that. Not anymore.”
I nod. I’ll take every ounce of vitriol she has for me. To her, I was a coward who took her virginity and just disappeared without a trace.
“I’m sorry.”
“Too little, too late, Lachlan. Ten. Fucking. Years.” She snorts sarcastically. Even now she’s stunning—she’s aged, but it only enhances her appearance.
“You have every right to hate me,” I start, ready to beg for her to give me a chance to plead my case, explain my actions from that night.
“You’re right. And I…” her pause gives me hope. “I… Lachlan.”
“I shouldn’t have left like that, Delaney. Believe me, Iknow, I shouldn't have left the way I did. But I—I did it for you.”
She gapes at me, only breaking eye contact to thank the barista when she sets our drinks in front of us.
“You…did it…forme?” Her voice is pitched so high on the last word that it’s nearly inaudible. Her mouth snaps shut and she narrows her glare at me. “Uh, no. That wasn’t for me. You were a coward, Lachlan Romero.”
“There were things—things beyond my control. I’ve always regretted the way things…”
She stands up suddenly. “I can’t stay here and listen to this. Have a nice life, Lachlan.” With that, she walks toward the exit, doubling back to grab whatever it was she dropped, getting back in line, and paying. This time when she walks through the doors, she watches where she’s going.
I watch her until she disappears into the busy parking lot. Finishing my coffee, I watch shoppers dashing around. I smile when I see a mother with a little girl sitting in the cart, chatting animatedly with a stuffed animal in her arms.
A pang of regret washes over me at the future I walked away from ten years ago. While I know why I walked away—and I wouldn’t change the outcome, because I never want to put her in danger—I’d give anything to go back and find a way to leave without breaking our hearts.
When my coffee is gone, I throw my cup away, grabbing Delaney’s from where she left it on the table, and tossing it, too. Walking around the store, trying to remember what I came here for before my past and future collided, I imagine doing normal, everyday things with Delaney by my side. She’d make even the most mundane tasks enjoyable with her effervescent feistiness.
I can imagine her as a mother—andfuck, I want her to be the mother of my children. Between the two of us, there would be no shortage of love, joy, and protection. I’d give my last breath to keep her out of harm’s way. I very nearly did.
Even though I had to leave to keep Delaney safe, I’ve managed to use my influence and resources to—well, some may call itmanipulate—her life, to ensure her happiness. I’ve kept tabs on her, opening doors to make things easier, and anytime someone new enters her life, I have a background check run immediately.
Now, though, everything has changed. The man she’s dating slipped through the cracks, and if anything happens to her because of it, I’ll never forgive myself.
Myles Martin is an attorney, which is enough of a mark against him. Everything I’ve read about him indicates he’s a perfectionist—nothing hinting that their relationship was anything but happy. It breaks my heart to think about her with him, but her happiness is the only thing that matters to me.
That is until he brought home a new, unsavory element. Delaney is no longer safe with him. His newest client is a dangerous criminal who maximizes collateral damage to get his way.
This time, the only way I can protect her is to win my way back into her life. Now that I’ve spent time in her presence, I’ll stop at nothing to win her back.
FOUR
