Page 106 of Grease Monkey
“Then why tell me about your mom? Was it to torment me?” He steps closer, our chests almost touching as shadows blanket his features, and I suppress a shudder, the air thickening as his scent invades my nose. “If you were always going back to him, what was the point in telling me? Have you had fun? Playing your little games? Coming here and fucking up my life?”
I shove his chest, pushing him away, allowing me space to breathe. “What is wrong with you? Why do you do this?” He looks affronted, like I’ve no right to be annoyed with him. But no, I’m done. He can’t keep blaming me like this, his mood changing on the turn of a dime at every encounter. I did what I had to. I hurt just as badly as he did, but he doesn’t want to look beyondhispain to accept this was how it had to be. “I can’t keep up with you—the constant hot and cold. One minute, you’re caring; the next, you’re this spiteful man I don’t recognize. We were kids, Teddy. We never stood a chance against my parents.”
“And what about now?”
“Nothing has changed…”
“You’ve sure made it feel like something changed when you fucked me.”
“That was closure, Teddy. What part of not wanting you or your family to suffer because of me don’t you understand? If I could change it, make it work between us, don’t you think I could have been here before now? Seeing you last night with that woman killed me. Do you think I like being reminded that you’ve been happily moving on for the last seven years while I’m stuck playing the dutiful daughter and fiancée? Too terrified to go after what I want. Too terrified to call you and beg you to forgive me. I was barely eighteen, Teddy. I did what I thought was right.”
“Happy? You think I’m happy?” In a blink of an eye, he’s pressed against me, both hands threaded in my hair, holding either side of my head as his eyes and body root me to the ground. “I’m fucking miserable without you, Ana. Every girl was compared to you. Every. Damn. Time. None of them ever came close. And they still fucking don’t.” My breath gets lodged in my throat as my lips part. “That night wasn’t fucking closure, Ana. It was the start of us again if we want it.”
“We can’t. My mom…” My head pounds, my eyes burning with unshed tears.
“We’ll handle her,” he says, his dark orbs filled with as much anguish as I feel. “I wish you had told me back then what she made you do. We should have gone through that together. We were young and stupid and maybe fell in love too fast, but we had each other. Even when I was twenty, Ana, you were always mine to protect. Let me do it now.” I try to drop my head, but his hold in my hair won’t let me. “Seeing you again has been fucking torture. I hated you, so fucking much, but when I saw you, I realized I hated myself for not fighting to keep you. So I’m doing it now. Stay with me. Once your time in Phoenix is up, don’t go back to him. Stay with me. Stay because it’s me you love, Ana Banana. Come back to me.”
Tears splash down my cheeks, and Teddy’s head dips down and kisses them from my skin. “Please, baby. Come back.”
His lips meet mine, and he gently kisses every inch, over my top lip, each corner, my bottom one, touching his mouth to mine as he begs me to stay. My hands circle his wrists as I release his hold from my head and step back.
“You need to go,” I whisper as my lip trembles. “Please.”
He’s blurry as I stare at him. He doesn’t move for what feels like an eternity, then finally, “This isn’t over, Ana. I’m going to fight for you ’cause I’m not losing you again. But at some point, you need to start fighting for me too.”
I watch as he turns and jogs to his car, pausing briefly as we stare at each other before he ducks inside and drives off. I suck in a shaky breath and swipe at my wet cheeks before heading back to the complex door. But as I look up to the window to my apartment, I see the curtains flutter back into place.
Chapter Forty-Two
Morgana
Richard’s arms are folded across his chest when I walk through the door. His lips are pulled into a tight line, giving nothing away as he watches me shrewdly.
“He’s not really a mechanic, is he?”
“He is,” I say with a croak. “And my car really did break down.”
“And he’s also your ex-boyfriend,” he says, an ugly twist tugging at his mouth. “The boy who caused a scene at DouxDésirwhen we met for dinner to discuss Yale several years ago.”
My mouth falls open. “How do you remember?”
“I’m a lawyer. It’s my job to remember details, Morgana. And remembering security having to escort someone who couldn’t afford the membership, let alone one drink in that restaurant, is something I’d be unlikely to forget.”
“He thought we were on a date. My mom told him that’s why I was there, and when he turned up, he thought it was true.”
“He didn’t recognize me, though?” I shake my head. He hums, the sound barely moving a muscle in his face. I swallow, waiting for the calm before the storm. “Did you know he was here before you accepted to head up this audit?”
I want to lie and tell him I had no idea, but I can’t. “I wasn’t sure, but I suspected he could be. He always wanted to move back to Phoenix to open his own garage.”
He’s silent, and I want to go to him. Apologize, tell him I made a mistake, beg him not to tell anyone. But every time I try to speak, my voice dies, and I freeze.
“Did you fuck him?” I flinch at the harshness of his tone and lower my head. His exhale is long and heavy, and I hear rustling like he’s playing with his tie or something. “Did you at least wear protection?”
My head snaps up in disbelief. Did he really ask me that? Instead of yelling, shouting, or cursing me, he asked if I wassafe?
“Of course.”
“Good. We will still schedule you to see our doctor for a full blood panel to be safe. But I think it’s best that you come home with me now. We’ll leave first thing in the morning. I can drive your…”
