Page 127 of On the Line
“What about us?”
Lexie took a deep breath and said, “When you left, I was a mess. I drowned myself in booze and sex, and only managed to pull myself out of it because Brent and Berk staged an intervention. Those first few months…they weren’t pretty. It felt a lot like being a kid again, when my parents would disappear for days on end and I didn’t know when, or even if, they’d come back for me. I did some things I’m not proud of, but I’m not going to apologize for them. For any of it.” She looked up at him then, her eyes swimming with tears as though remembering it all put her right back in that place, when the pain was the most fresh. “You broke my heart, Mitch. And I wasn’t sure it would ever heal.”
“I understand,” he said quietly. “And I’m sorry.”
She waved him off. “I don’t need your apologies anymore. You’ve made it perfectly clear the last few months that you regret what you did, and you’ve been trying to fix it. I’m not saying I agree with how you handled things, but I’m willing to forgive you. And I’m willing to admit to my part in things. If I hadn’t pushed you away…”
“It’s not your fault. I should’ve tried harder.”
She glanced up at him, her smile wobbly. “We both should have. I think we can agree we both fucked up.”
He gave her a small smile and nodded, tamping down on the full force of the one he wanted to unleash. If she was willing to admit she had also fucked up, and to forgive him, they were halfway there.
“So now what?” He asked, popping a piece of garlic bread in his mouth.
“I’m not ready to just jump back into things the way they were before, if that’s what you’re thinking. But I’m willing to go slow.”
“How slow?” He asked. Now that she had taken a step back toward him and was making her way back into his arms, he was greedy.
He wanted everything.
“I was thinking we start by you being my date to Brent and Berkley’s wedding.”
Mitch was surprised by that. The wedding was still three weeks away, and his mood fell with the knowledge that she really meant it when she saidgo slow.
But again, this was Lexie. The love of his life, the only woman he’d ever wanted like this. The only woman he wanted forever. So he said, “I would love to be your date.”
Sincetheirlittledateafter Brent and Berkley’s respective bachelor and bachelorette weekends, he’d hardly seen or heard from Lexie. He knew she had been out of town for work, and she’d made it clear she wanted to take things slow, but his chest still felt heavy with everything riding on making this weekend so perfect, not just for Brent and Berkley, but for him and Lexie as well.
As if sensing the direction of his thoughts, Brent asked, “So what’s your plan for this weekend, Mitch?”
Mitch’s eyebrows drew together in fake confusion. “You mean other than standing by your side as you marry the love of your life and getting absolutely shitfaced in celebration?”
Brent glared at him, as if begging Mitch to stop fucking around and give him the answer he really wanted. When none was forthcoming, Brent said, “For Lexie, bro. What’s your plan for Lexie?”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. Don’t play dumb with me. You’ve been trying to get her back since you moved back to Detroit.”
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” Mitch said with a shrug. He was lying, and Brent knew it.
“Right,” Brent said. “That’s why you spun out when you saw that picture of her with a fucking YouTube star. And why you went on a date with her after the bach weekends.”
“I didn’t spin out,” Mitch grumbled half-heartedly. “But how do you know about the date?” Then it hit Mitch. “Berkley. They’ve been talking about me?”
Brent nodded, a smirk gracing his mouth. “Sure have. I’ll admit, your methods aren’t as impressive as mine, but surely you’ve got something planned for this weekend? If not, I can help!”
Mitch had never considered asking for his friend’s help before, and was quite frankly surprised Brent hadn’t offered it. When he and Berkley were dating, Mitch had frequently tossed around ideas with Brent, nudging him in the right direction when it came to courting their favorite little blonde, even when those ideas backfired epically.
Truly, it was a gift from God that Brent had come to his senses before giving that speech at her law school graduation.
“I don’t have a plan,” Mitch told him honestly. “I’m just hoping she’ll come to me naturally. We had dinner when we got back from the bach weekends and talked. She asked me to be her date to your wedding. She said she’s willing to forgive me, but she wants to take things slow. I’m just trying to honor her wishes and let her come to me.”
Now it was Brent’s turn to snort. “Bro, have you met Lexie? Where in the manual on that girl does it say she’s going to come to you?”
Mitch considered that, quickly realizing his friend had a point. Lexie wasn’t going to come to him. At least not without some subtle nudging and hand-holding. The fact that she had invited him to dinner three weeks ago, and asked him to be her date for this wedding, was a big step for her, and completely out of character.
It made sense to him that she had all but disappeared after that, citing work and preparing for this wedding as excuses for why she couldn’t spend any time with him.
