Page 40 of Breaking the Rules
“Don’t say that!” The cry echoed through the room.
“Tell me,” he pushed. “Do you feel about Dante the way you felt about me?”
“No!”
His voice was low, but he was breathing heavily. “Then why are you fighting this, Waverly?”
“You said that I was damaged!” There. The words that had haunted her for years were finally free. But they didn’t stop Xavier in his tracks. They only egged him on.
“Baby, you show me one person in this world who isn’t. Go ahead, point a finger and show me someone who escaped life completely unscathed. Life is damaging, and all we can do is use those scars to make us stronger, better, smarter.”
“That isn’t what you told me before. You said I was damaged and toxic. That I wasn’t good for you.”
He reached for her again, gently this time. His hands were warm on her upper arms. “Angel.”
She could hear the pain, the regret, in that one word.
“I was wrong. I was scared, and I was so wrong. I had never felt what I felt for you, and I’d almost lost you. My world was upside down.”
“Why didn’t you talk to me?”
He leaned in, and she could see the earnestness in his eyes. “I’m sorry for that. And I’m sorry for hurting you. But understand this, I’m going to spend the rest of my life fixing this. You give me a second chance, and I’ll make sure you never regret it.”
“I can’t do that! I can’t love you again!” The words came out a sob.
He took a deep breath, and she felt him purposely loosen his grip on her arms. “Waverly, I need you to cut me some slack.”
“Slack? You want me to cut you slack? You brought me home from the hospital and made me beg you to stay, and then you just walked out on me.”
“I’m sorry!” he snapped, his fingers tightening on her again. “I’ll say it a thousand times if it takes the hurt away. I’m sorry, Angel.”
“You made me think my worst fear had come true. That I was too damaged to be loved.” Tears filled her eyes, but there was anger there, too.
He stilled and brought his hands up to gently cup her face. “Oh, Angel. I’m so sorry.”
He was. She knew he was, knew he understood now, maybe for the first time, the blow he’d dealt her. He’d known her deepest secrets about her family, about how her childhood had affected her. And by walking out on her, saying the words she’d feared for so long, he’d leveled her.
“Waverly.” He said her name with a tenderness that sliced into her.
She squeezed her eyes closed. “No, don’t be nice now. I don’t want to cry,” she sniffled.
“If you cry, it will gut me,” he warned her.
“Well, at least there’s an upside.”
He gathered her to him and picked her up. He carried her to the couch where he sat with her in his lap. She didn’t try to bolt, but she didn’t relax either. She just took slow deep breaths and tried to force back the tide of emotion.
Xavier tucked her head against his chest and rested his chin on top. “Angel, don’t ever question if you’re good enough to be loved. And don’t ever, ever let a man dictate whether you can be loved.”
She hiccupped softly against him, and he stroked her arm.
“That’s what I’m going to teach our daughters. I figure we’ll have three. At least to start.”
“Xavier.” And suddenly she was tired, bone weary.
“Shh, Angel. Just think about it.”
“I can’t think when you’re so close to me,” she confessed.
