Page 143 of Reckless
“Winter, I am so fucking sorry.”
“There are people who need you now. We’re stronger than this. And yeah, I was angry with you. That was a dumb thing to say. But guess what? I’m going to get mad at you from time to time. People who are together get mad at each other. They say shitty things they regret. It’snormal. Being happy-go-lucky Theo, who ticks no one off and never has a bad day, is not normal. You’re allowed to freak out.” She pauses, breathing heavily. “But you have to freak outwithme.”
My nose burns. Even Vivi looks serious now.
“I’m sorry.” My voice cracks when I drop my head.
“You have to freak out with me because Ineedyou. And I love you. I love you so much it paralyzes me to think of carrying on without you. You’re not allowed to shut me out. Because you made me need you, and now you have to deal with the consequences.”
I don’t ignore the ache in my hands this time. I reach for the woman standing across from me and crush her to my chest. A surprised yelp leaves her mouth at how quickly I move, but she doesn’t resist. My arms wrap around her tiny frame, and I suck in a deep inhale of her warm cinnamon sugar scent as I cradle her head against my heart and close my eyes, sinking into her.
“I’m really mad at you, Theo.”
“Understandable.” I glance down at the stroller beside us. Vivi’s wide dark eyes gaze up at me. “I’m mad at me too.”
“Really, really fucking mad,” she amends.
I dust my lips back and forth over her hair. “But you love me?”
She doesn’t hesitate. “So much it hurts.”
I squeeze her tighter, soaking up how well she fits against me. Warm and soft. “Welcome to the club, Tink.”
She tips her head back and holds my gaze. Although she looks tired, her eyes are sparking like they were the first time she tore a strip off me. “I love you.” She says the words again like they’re unfamiliar in her mouth, like she’s getting used to how they feel on her lips. Like it’s a new language to her entirely.
My hands comb through the warm golden strands of her hair. “I love you too. Now would you come in here so we can all be together while you’re being really, really fucking mad at me and I freak out because I love you and want to kill your ex?”
She pulls away and dusts off her perfectly clean clothes. “Yeah. That sounds perfect.”
I glance down at Peter, who is now sitting and shaking. “I don’t think this is a dog-friendly hotel.”
Winter scoffs. “He’s barely a dog, more like a rat or a squirrel.” She pushes past me. Bag. Stroller. Baby. Dog.
My entire life in one room. And she’s right. I’m still freaking out.
But somehow, I feel better with them here.
“No sluts in here, right?” she quips, glancing around the room, looking for evidence of something I would never, ever do to her.
“Only one,” I reply as I hug her from behind and rub my stubble over her cheek.
And Winter Hamilton rolling her eyes at me has never felt so good.
* * *
“Okay, Theo.” Rhett snaps his fingers in front of my face while we sit atop the fence.
I should be listening. I should be watching. I should have my head in the game.
Except my girls are in the stands.
The one who has been saying the same syllables over and over again all day. And the one who napped in my bed and scowled at me the minute I came back to my room with Peter and Vivi in hand.
“Still mad at me?” I asked.
“No, I’m mad at myself.”
“Why?”
