Page 53 of Interference
His eyes soften as his arms tighten around me, drawing me in closer.
“Buttercup, I need you to be sure,” he whispers. “This would mean more to me than I think you realize.”
“I am. I want you. I want us. I want all of this,” I tell him without hesitation.
He leans down and rests his forehead against mine. “You have no idea how much this means to me. I promise you, Emery, I won’t fail you. I won’t let you down.”
Fail me?
How could this man ever fail me? He’s been showing up since the first day I told him I was expecting. In all honesty, he was showing up before that even. Brett was always there, in the wings, waiting for me to give him whatever I had to offer that day.
If anyone has failed here, it’s me. I dragged him along for years. Granted, at the time I didn’t know it, but I do now. The thought of how I’ve treated him in the past makes me feel sick. I treated him like my dirty little secret, and he went along with it.
Because he wanted me.
Me.
Not the figure skater.
Not the girl from a well-off family.
Not the girl who could get him an in with the right people.
He didn’t need or want any of that. He just wanted me for who I am.
And I treated him like he was beneath me. Like he wasn’t good enough.
God, I’m horrible. How could he want me? After the way I’ve treated him…
“Hey, where did you go?” he asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“I’m sorry.”
Brett jerks back, like I’ve hit him.
“What are you sorry for?” he asks reluctantly.
“For not seeing you until all of this. For treating you like a dirty little secret.”
He relaxes back into his pillow. “I don’t care about all of that. As long as you meant it when you said you wanted to be together, then I’m good.”
“I mean it.”
“Are you sure? Because there is no going back for me, Emery. This is it. I’ve already told you I’m in love with you. That hasn’t changed,” he rumbles in a deep tone.
“I’m sure,” I tell him.
There are only three things I’m sure of.
One: I’m meant to be on the ice, competing until I can’t anymore.
Two: That I’m going to be the best mother I can be.
And three: That I’m meant to be with him.
Now I just need to prove to Brett that I’m not going anywhere. Not this time.
“I’m sure,” she says with conviction.
