Page 146 of Late Nights & Love Lines
“Fine.” She throws her hands into the air. “I don’t know how to do this.” I don’t even flinch. A month ago, I would have seized at the words for fear that meant she was leaving, but now, I simply wait for her to work through the emotions she’s not used to sharing with other people.
“Just say whatever you’re thinking.”
“I want to kill her,” she blurts. “But I can’t say that out loud. And I’m well aware that it’s not kind and it’s not right. I should probably even be giving her grace because she is, in fact, dying, but I want to wrap my hands around her neck and snuff the life right out of her for hurting Seren again.”
Taking her arms in mine, I rub small circles down them until I get to her clenched hands and slowly help her relax them.
“Easy there, killer. You might want to take a break from the mafia romances.” It earns me a partial smile, but Seren’s pain shines brightly in Rowan’s eyes. She’s taking it on because she loves Seren more than she loves herself, just as a mom’s supposed to love.
“I won’t actually kill her,” Rowan mutters. “But she can’t keep hurting her this way. It’s death by a thousand cuts, and it’s not fair.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I admit. “Well, not the killing part, but that she can’t keep hurting them.”
“You should go talk to her by yourself,” she says. “I don’t need to be there for that conversation.”
“But I want you to be a part of every conversation, Peach. I want us to be a team.” Hopefully she hears the honesty in my words because I’m not sure how else to explain this to her.
“I know,” she says. “And it’s a lot. I mean, it’s good, but it’s a lot, and I’m still going to try to flee sometimes, and you’re going to have to let me. This is one of those times. I don’t have a history with Mya, and everything I’ve learned about her is clouded by the hurt she’s caused. You’ll need to come to an agreement with her, and if I’m there I’ll be a fiery ball of rage that will get you nowhere. I’m doing this for myself because I hate her, and I’m doing it for your kids because they love her. Make peace with her, Seb, so she can give your children peace.”
“I’m keeping you forever.” That’s not what I had meant to say, but it’s what I mean. Shaking my head, I smile. “I meant to say that I love you, and I love that you put us first. And I’m keeping you forever.”
At least she laughs instead of runs.
“You should go find her now before Seren gets home.”
I press a gentle kiss on her forehead, and I’m almost to the door when she calls out, “Seb?”
“Yeah, Peach?”
“I was twelve years old the last time I told someone that I loved them.” My feet carry me back to her. “I told myself I’d never say those words again so I wouldn’t ever have to experience that kind of pain when I lost them.”
“I get it, and there’s no pressure. I know how you feel. I see it in your every action, every touch, and every kiss. I love you.”
“That’s the thing.”
Tilting my head, I study her. “What’s the thing?”
“I love you too, and I don’t know how to say it.”
Game. Set. Match. My heart is forever hers.
“Sweetheart,” I groan. “You just did.”
Her wide eyes draw me in, and if I never hear those three little words again, I’ll still die a happy man simply by this reaction alone.
“I love you?”
I nod, grinning like a damn fool.
“I guess I love you.” She laughs, and we finally become whole.
I calledMya fifteen times in a row before she finally picked up, and it took fifteen minutes to get her to agree to meet with me.
Now I’m sitting in a hotel bar, waiting for my ex-wife so I can tell her to get the hell out of my life for good.
“Seb,” she says, sliding into the booth across from me. Her movements are stilted, and flashes of pain show in her expression.
I say nothing, opting for the silence to draw her gaze to mine.
