Page 40 of The Last Affair
He came closer. “I’m sorry.”
“I had to tell you something really important.”
Dropping the bag he was holding on the floor, he came closer to the bed. “I’m sorry.”
How was it possible that he looked worse than she felt? His eyes seemed a little puffy, like maybe he’d been crying, and his shoulders were slumped, like he was carrying a heavy weight. “I waited for you, and you didn’t come.”
He shook his head. “I was late, and I’m so, so sorry.” Leaning over her when she thought he would’ve kissed her, he eased the pillow he’d been carrying beneath her head instead.
Then he went to the duffel bag and took out her phone charger and the unicorn figurine that sat on her nightstand. “You went to my house?”
“Nessa let me in.” When he set her favorite tumbler with the bright blue straw on the table beside the unicorn, she wanted to cry.
“I have to apologize now.”
“No, baby. There’s nothing you need to apologize for. I was late. If I’d been there when I said I would, you wouldn’t have been in the accident. And Des, I need you to know I’d never do anything to hurt you. I’d never be careless with you in any way. I didn’t father a child and walk away, and I’m not interested in dating multiple women anymore.” He’d taken her hand and was holding it tightly. She could feel his fingers trembling in hers.
“I thought I had to be that way after the accident with India so many years ago. I felt so bad about what happened to her that I didn’t believe I deserved to be happy or in love again. I messed up back then, and I messed up again today. But I want to do better, I want to be better.” He kissed her fingers before looking up to her again. “I’m better when I’m with you.”
How could he be breaking her heart and filling it at the same time? She ached for the pain he’d carried all these years. It was foolish of him to think he had to be punished for an accident that wasn’t his fault. Just as it was foolish of her to hold what had happened with her and Gordon so close that it spilled over into everything she did. Once again, the fact that they seemed to be a perfect match was not lost on her.
She tried to lift her free hand up to his face, but the effort was painful, and she winced. He immediately leaned over so he was closer, and her palm finally met his cheek for a slow stroke. “We’re quite a pair, you and I. Walking around here acting like martyrs, holding our feelings back because of some nonsense in our past.” She shook her head. “Last night, when you left, I thought back to when I found out Gordon was cheating on me. And then after I saw that video I remembered when the owner of the team Gordon had played on held a press conference to announce that Gordon was being released from the team after sleeping with the coach’s wife.” She took in a shaky breath, forcing herself not to cry over events that didn’t deserve any more of her tears. “I felt like it was happening all over again, but this time the pain was surreal.”
“Des—” She shook her head to stop him from speaking.
“No. I know that this is different. You’re not Gordon, and I’m sorry for comparing what we have to what I had with him.”
“I would never intentionally hurt you. Not ever,” he insisted.
“I know.”
Revisiting her life with Gordon was tough, but it was also cathartic, because in that moment she looked into Maurice’s eyes, she knew deep down in her soul that he’d stand by his word.
“I would never treat you badly. Next to Major, you’ve been my best friend these past five years.” He was shaking his head now. “I didn’t realize that until now.”
“Well, you may rethink that when you find out I was responsible for that video going viral.” She figured he had to know about it by now. He was in charge of PR at the company, so someone would’ve reached out to him once they saw it.
“What are you talking about? When did you see the video?” He looked as perplexed as she’d felt when Kelli had walked into her office. But after telling him about that entire exchange, his look of confusion shifted to pure rage.
“Dammit!” He released her hand and stepped away from the bed, turned his back on her and then ran his hands over his face. “That’s where I knew that guy’s name from. When Chaz first said it, I didn’t make the connection.”
“The connection to what?” Despite the pain meds her head was still pounding as she tried to process everything.
He turned back to face her and shrugged. “It seems that Dear Lover was responsible for bringing us together and was almost responsible for tearing us apart. Travis Milhouse was the one who sent me the blackmail messages I started getting that Sunday while we were still at the resort. He and Kelli must’ve concocted the plan once they figured out who we were. And if I wasn’t the consummate playboy, they wouldn’t have had the opening.”
“Oh no, you’re not about to accept the blame for that, too. I knew Kelli was a little off when I met her.”
“Nah, I’m not taking the blame for anybody but myself at this point. I just can’t believe we had to go through all of this...just to realize our friendship was meant to be more.”
“Is it more for you, Maurice?” It was a brave question, one she’d been struggling with asking him all day long.
When he walked over to the bed again, this time brushing his knuckles over her cheek and bending down to drop the softest kiss on her forehead, her skin rippled once again with warmth. It traveled throughout her body now, comforting and calming.
“Yeah, it’s definitely more now.”
EPILOGUE
Three Months Later
