Chapter Seventeen
“Em.”
Shit. Bryce. He sounded surprised, yet his voice had been firm.
After being caught out of bed by Bud, she should’ve just gone back. In her defense, she figured Bud would run and tell Bryce anyway. She’d already been caught, so there’d been no point in hiding. She expected Bryce an hour ago. When he didn’t show, she decided to finish laundry.
Straightening, she turned and met his eyes. He stood at the threshold leading into the room. God, just the sight of him shirtless. Not only shirtless but sweaty, like he’d just finished one hell of a workout.
“What’d I fuckin’ say not two hours ago?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “You said not to get out of bed.”
Eyes narrowing, he quirked a brow and stepped into the room. “Are you being a smart ass?”
Totally. She hid a smile. “No.”
He nodded. “You’re being a smart ass.”
She lifted her brows, playing dumb.
“I told you to stay in bed. You know I wanna know what the hell you’re doing out of bed, so you’re being a smart ass and a pain in my ass, babe.”
“Just thought I’d finally get around to doing laundry, babe.”
His eyes widened then narrowed. He moved taking another step inside, slamming the door shut then closing the distance between them. Inches away, as a smile quirked his lips, he leaned into her. “That’s my Em, giving me lip and making me wanna do her at the same time.” He chuckled. “Where’s she been all this time?”
Snaking an arm around her back, he pushed her against him then kissed her, long, deep, and wonderfully. When he drew away, he whispered against her lips, “Fuckin’ missed you, babe.”
Her chest warmed. “Missed you, too, babe.”
He chuckled then pressed his mouth to hers, soft and slow, and he didn’t stop kissing her. One arm firm around her waist, the other moved, gripping her ass and hefting her up slowly until she sat on the laundry machine behind her. Her legs parting, he stood between them.
“Missed your mouth,” he said against her lips, his hand now under her shirt, trailing up her back.
“Should’ve kissed me then.”
For days, since she got out of the hospital, he’d only pressed his lips against hers gently, a small peck.
Shaking his head, he chuckled. “You know why I couldn’t.”
She had an idea. “No.”
He unfastened her bra clasp one-handed. Her nipples puckered. Involuntarily, she arched her back, rubbing them against his chest.
“Kissing leads to shit like this…” His hand moved to her front. He cupped her breast then pinched her nipple with his index finger and thumb.
Her whole body shivered, legs instinctively tightening around him.
“And this…” He dropped his head, kissing her neck. Then he lifted her shirt, trailed his mouth down, and sucked, hard.
She threw her head back and moaned.
He pressed his lips against hers a moment later. “And all that leads to me taking you, and I couldn’t do that. We can’t do that. Not ’till tomorrow, our wedding night.”
No! She wanted him now. Her legs tensed around him, about to protest.
“Plus you’re recovering.”
What? She was fine and now all hot and bothered. He couldn’t leave her like this!
He smiled. “But since you’re up and feeling good enough to do laundry, I’m thinking you’re feeling good enough to handle me.”
Thank God, he’d just been teasing. So mean! It’d been days! Still, she wouldn’t tease him back or lecture him about teasing her. She needed him, right now. Not like she could do either with his tongue sweeping inside her mouth.
She hooked her arms around his neck and bucked her hips, stroking against him.
Drawing away from her lips, he smirked. “Guess my babe missed me too.”
All she managed to do was nod. Then his mouth hit hers again, kissing her sweetly. He used to kiss her like that all the time.
The next instant, he unbuckled her jeans and gently lifted her off the laundry machine to tug them and her thong off. His mouth lingered down her neck, kissing, licking, suckling, softly and sweetly. He pulled away slightly to undo his own jeans and yank them down along with his boxers. One hand at her waist, the other wrapped around her back, he pressed himself inside and hesitated only for a moment before he began moving inside her.
The entire time, he held her eyes.
He made love to her. Just like he used to.
In that instant, it became clear why she’d thought things between them had been changing. The first few times they’d had sex, he’d taken her rough, and he continued to do that at times, but often, he’d taken her tenderly too. It also became clear why she’d thought he loved her all those years ago even if he never said it. And yet, it still didn’t explain why he hurt her.
He stopped. “Em?”
Her legs convulsed, pushing him against her. “Don’t stop.”
He started moving again, keeping the pace. It built slow but hit hard. As she spasmed, her head flew back, and a scream tore from her throat.
He buried his face in her neck and tightened his arm around her waist. “That’s it, babe.”
When the high began to fade, she cupped the back of his head and lifted hers. He kept moving. She spotted it before it came. Shoulders bunched, the corded muscles in his neck straining against his skin, his whole face changed, but he never released her, never lost sight of her eyes.
He finished on a groan and stayed buried. Then he released her waist to wrap his hand around the back of her neck. Hauling her against him, he held her tight. Her head buried in his neck, she did something she used to do after every time. She lifted her head and pressed a kiss to his jaw.
He tensed. She drew away slowly and locked gazes with him.
Brows furrowed, blue-green eyes scanning her face. “Love it when you do that, Em. Loved it then and love it now.”
Her eyes softened.
“You gonna tell me what’s on your mind?”
She quirked a brow. “Um… What?”
“Why there’re tears in your eyes?”
Shit. That wasn’t a surprise. It took her a spilt second to make a decision, to lie or omit the truth. “It was beautiful.”
He lifted his brows. “That’s why you’re in tears?”
No. She cried because she didn’t understand how you could hurt someone you loved. This, she wouldn’t admit. She’d made her decision. She loved him, and he loved her. He’d apologized for his mistakes and promised never to hurt her again. She’d leave the past in the past.
“It was beautiful, Bryce, just like before, just like every time.”
He squeezed the back of her neck, kissed her forehead, and smiled. “Love you, babe.”
She released a breath. “Love you, babe.”
****
Ripper couldn’t believe his luck. No doubt he was the luckiest SOB on the planet. He woke that morning when Em, sleeping pressed against his side, cuddled closer and lifted herself over him. Chest to chest, she kissed him, deep.
“Rise and shine, babe,” she whispered.
He groaned in protest and parted his eyes half-mast. They landed on her beautiful face, her hazel eyes shining, her hair a mess.
She grinned. “It was your idea to have me wake you, remember?”
Busting his balls, his old Em was back, officially. He loved her either way, but he wanted her to be the woman she was before life got in the way.
He smiled. “Yeah, babe, I remember.”
He snaked his arms around her and sat up in bed, bringing her with him. Her legs straddled him, she buried her face in his neck and laughed softly. Then she lifted her head and kissed his jaw.
“Big day today.”
She drew away, quirking a brow. “Really? Why?”
Again, teasing him. She knew why. It was Friday, the day they’d get hitched. He smirked. She moved off him, threw her feet over the edge of the bed, and stood. He slapped her ass playfully and didn’t let her get far. Jumping out of bed, she caught his intent and ran for the door. He reached her just in time, winding an arm around her waist and hauling her backward.
“No!” She laughed. “I have to get Bree out of bed. She can’t be late.”
He buried his face in her neck. “She’s missing school today.”
She shifted turning her head to meet his gaze. “No, she can’t. She’s never missed—”
“Em, her parents are getting hitched. She isn’t missing that.”
She smiled and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. She shouldn’t.”
He grinned. “So we’re agreeing?”
Her smile widened.
“So you aren’t gonna fight me if I drag you in the shower with me?”
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
He kissed her then. She didn’t protest. He took her to the bathroom. She went willingly. He made love to her then, soft and slow.
Just like before.
Just like he used to.
When he came, he stayed buried. Holding her up, one arm around her back, the other under her butt, his body between her legs wrapped around his waist.
She lifted her head and kissed his jaw. “Love you, Bryce.”
Later, they woke Bree and told her she’d miss school since they were getting married. His little girl was so ecstatic she spent the morning telling everyone. After breakfast, they headed to the courthouse. There, he thought, not for the first time, how he never thought that day would come. He looked to Em, standing beside him, wearing a simple red dress, synched at the waist that fell around her ass perfectly. He didn’t know if she wore that color knowing it was his favorite, but he’d find out, eventually. Her blonde locks spilling around her, a soft smile in place, she never looked more beautiful. His gaze drifted to Bree, at his other side, her hand in his, also wearing a dress. Hers, a flower print with various colors that had some red in it too.
He looked at the young couple in front of them. The man was in uniform, a marine. His soon-to-be wife wore a white dress and held a bouquet of roses in her hand.
His stomach turned. He should’ve taken Em and Bree shopping for new dresses and flowers, at the very least. He hadn’t even thought about it. Nothing like that to make him feel like a shitty husband before he was a husband.
His stare moved to Em. He leaned in, his mouth at her ear. “Should’ve got you a new dress.”
She angled her head and quirked a brow. “A dress?”
“Yeah, a white dress, some flowers, anything else you wanted.”
Her eyes softened that way he liked. “You’re all I’ve wanted for a long time.”
His chest tightened, throat clogged as he fought the emotion filling him.
It was their turn soon after. He said his vows first repeating after the officiant. She went next, and as she repeated the words, tears trekked down her beautiful face. Then the officiant asked for the rings. Em tensed and wiped the moisture streaking her face.
He reached into his pocket pulling out two bands. His, a plain, platinum band, hers was platinum too but embedded with fifteen diamonds that went around the length of it, five carats total. He realized then maybe he should’ve gotten her an engagement ring, too. A ring with a big diamond she’d pair with the band and show off with pride.
“Should’ve gotten you another one.”
She looked from the officiant to him. Then she peered at his hand, where he held her ring. Her eyes widened, lips parted. “That’s…for me?” She swallowed. “I didn’t know… You didn’t have to. I…”
“Should’ve gotten you another one.”
“What? Why? No, I-I like it.” She shook her head then rephrased, “I love it. I want that one.”
He chuckled. “I’m gonna let you keep this one anyway, Em. I meant I should’ve gotten you another one to go with this one.”
Her eyes went wider. They dropped to the ring and met his gaze again. “Why?”
He smirked. “I make good money, babe. My wife should have nice bling.”
“That is nice bling.”
He smiled then nodded toward the officiant, a silent command he continue. A minute later, he slid the band on her finger, and she slipped his ring on his. Then finally, he got to kiss her. And they were married. That easy, that quick, and still, as he left the courthouse with both his girls smiling bright, he thought maybe he should’ve done more, had a big wedding with the club or anything else Em wanted.
Inside his SUV, Bree sitting buckled in the back, he turned to Em. “We can do this again later.”
She tilted her head slightly, her brows furrowing.
“When this shit with the Falcons is over, we can have a real wedding like the one you dreamed of when you were a girl.”
She smiled weakly. “I didn’t dream of my wedding when I was a girl.”
What had she dreamt of? He’d never asked her. Swallowing, he cocked his head. “What’d you dream about?”
Her eyes went soft. She looked away then mouthed, “Bree.”
So her dream as a little girl had been something the average girl didn’t dream about, something fucked she didn’t want Bree to hear. His stomach rolled then hollowed out. Ignoring the sensation, he looked over his shoulder at Bree, smiled then drove to The Bridge, the fanciest steakhouse within a hundred-mile radius for lunch. He’d been there with Em before for each of their anniversaries. She remembered. He knew because the moment he pulled up, she looked at him, and her eyes softened that way he liked. That look stayed on her face the whole time. After the hostess sat them, she told Bree that’s where they shared their anniversaries before she was born. It brought a smile to his baby girl’s face too.
They had a fantastic lunch. He paid a hefty bill, the norm for the place, and didn’t mind it one bit. As they left, Bree and Em headed to the ladies’ room. While he waited for them, he got a call, the one he’d been praying to get for weeks.
Beef found Lilliam. He’d take her to the compound. That meant soon Em would know the truth.
Best wedding present ever.
****
The best day ever.
Em was Mrs. Knight.
She’d been Emelia Knight, Ms. Knight, for a while. When she left him, she’d changed her name. For one, she wanted to stay hidden. She chose his name because she wanted to give their daughter his name, a name she wanted to share. Now, though, she was officially Mrs. Bryce Knight. Maybe it was because she’d been in love with him for years, but it sounded amazing to her. Still, she couldn’t believe it.
Em dreamed of being married to Bryce repeatedly over the course of seven years. When she did, she hadn’t dreamt about him wearing a tux or in a church. She hadn’t pictured herself in a white dress, hadn’t imagined a large reception, a reception at all. She dreamt about a simple, courthouse wedding.
She never ever thought that dream would come true. It had, and as it turned out, reality kicked her dream’s ass. Because never in a million years had she thought Bryce would buy her a ring, especially not the insanely huge band embedded in diamonds. If it wasn’t so beautiful, it’d be gaudy. Not that she’d complain, it was a ring with lots of diamonds and gorgeous, the most beautiful piece of jewelry she’d ever owned. In fact, it was the most beautiful piece of jewelry she’d ever seen. Needless to say, she’d never thought he’d be concerned with getting her a dress or flowers. She’d never even considered he’d wear anything but a plain tee and his cut, yet he had. He wore a black, button-down, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of dark wash jeans, proving he looked handsome even preppy. Last, she never envisioned he’d want to give her a wedding she dreamed of. The lunch at The Bridge was just icing on her amazing day.
Now, they were headed to the compound after having just dropped off Bree at Trig and Allie’s for a sleepover with Della. They’d get a “honeymoon” night, too. She couldn’t wait. Not that it’d be much different from every other night, still, it was nice.
He parked in the front lot of the garage, turned to her, and asked again, “What did you dream about when you were a girl?”
Another thing about today that surprised her—he asked her things he’d never asked before, almost as if he was trying to get to know her better. When they’d been together, they didn’t talk about the past. He knew about her abusive father like she knew both his parents abandoned him, and he ended up with a grandmother who didn’t care for him like she should, but they never went into details. They never rehashed the past. What for?
She would’ve answered the first time since she didn’t see the point in lying, but she hadn’t because of Bree. A part of her figured he’d let it go or forget about it altogether. The fact he hadn’t reinforced that maybe he was, in some way, trying to get to know her on a deeper level.
“Getting away.”
He cocked his head. “From this town?”
That’s what some small-town girls dreamed about she supposed but not her. Shaking her head, she said, “From my father.”
His expression hardened, but there was something sad in his eyes. “Never had another dream, Em?”
God, no. That was all she wanted for so long, as a girl anyway. Chip saved her from that. Then she met Bryce, and she’d wanted him, but she hadn’t been a girl then.
She shook her head. “No.”
“You never dreamed about getting hitched, getting a degree, or having kids?”
That sounded bad, but it was the truth. “I—”
“You were going to college for a while, didn’t you want that?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but when I was a girl, I never let myself dream about anything but getting away because I knew I’d never get anything unless I did.”
His jaw twitched. “I should’ve kicked his ass while I had the chance.”
She burst out laughing.
His brows furrowed. “Not a joke.”
She stopped laughing abruptly, her gaze softening. “I know.”
He smiled then. “I gotta surprise for you.”
She grinned.
Outside of the SUV, he reached for her hand. Her smile still in place and didn’t fade, in fact, it widened, excitement building while she followed close behind him as he led her into the garage and compound. She trailed him down the long, narrow hallway past the living room and kitchen to the back end of the compound. Just before reaching the door leading to the backlot, he turned and opened a door into one of the spare rooms. By this point, her cheeks hurt with how hard she was smiling. When he tugged her inside and beside him, her gaze fell to the center of the room.
Her smile faded. Her chest tightened, and the breath flew out of her. A searing pain that started in her middle spread until she hurt everywhere.
Lilliam sat on a chair in that room. Her legs bare, wearing a mini-skirt, a black shirt exposing too much cleavage, and a pair of stripper heels.
No. Not real. This couldn’t be happening, not to her, not on the best day of her life. She shook her head, hating Lilliam didn’t disappear, proving it was real and happening. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t hurt so bad. It came to her fast. The gut-wrenching realization—this was a joke, a horrible, cruel joke…on her. Get Em to think he loved her, reinforce it by marrying her, giving her a perfect day, only to shove Lilliam in her face on their honeymoon night. Surprise, he’s still fucking Lilliam. Surprise, he hated her and wanted her to suffer. How could she have been so gullible to think he loved her?
The room began to spin. Tears rushed her. She needed to get away, fast. Releasing Bryce’s hand, she took several steps back.
He moved to face her, blocking Lilliam from her sight. Then he snaked his arms around her back bringing her close. She planted her hands against the expanse of his chest, feeling every muscle, every ridge. It sucked it felt good, so amazing for a split second she forgot what he’d just done to her.
Looking into his eyes as he held her close, the room stopped swirling. A relief, she didn’t know if she would’ve stayed standing otherwise.
The muscle in his jaw jumped. “Don’t you trust me?”
She pushed with all her might but only managed to get an inch between them. His arms tight around her wouldn’t allow her farther away.
“You trust me.” His voice firm yet pleading just like his eyes. “You do. You said you love me. You love me, you gotta trust me now.”
Trust him? No clue why but even as her breaths came out in gasps, she nodded.
Bryce turned, releasing one arm from around her back yet kept the other firm around her waist. He lugged her to his side pressing her close as if he knew she needed the weight of her body supported.
She swallowed.
“Tell her.”
Em realized for the first time they weren’t alone. Strike stood to Lilliam’s right. Bud to her left, blocking her in. Neither looked happy.
Apparently, Lilliam didn’t speak fast enough because Bud barked, “Tell her!”
He screamed it so loud and sudden, she jostled against Bryce. Almost as if instinctively, that arm around her waist squeezed her.
Lilliam’s eyes narrowed, glaring at Bud. She threw her fake blonde hair behind her then snapped, “It’s been more than five years.” Lilliam’s head shot forward meeting her gaze. “Looks like she’s forgiven him anyway.”
Bud ground his teeth then kicked one of the hind legs of Lilliam’s chair. It tipped over.
Lilliam caught herself on her hands and knees. “I can’t fucking believe you just did that! I’m married to one of your brothers!”
“Not as soon as you sign those fuckin’ papers,” Strike shot.
Lilliam jutted her breasts forward, stretching the small tank she wore. Then on hands and knees, she turned, put her feet on the ground, giving Em and Bryce view of her bare ass. Lilliam rubbed her knees, stood, and straightened. “Get him now. I want to talk to him. When he finds out what you just did to me, he’ll—”
“Get him.”
Em’s head automatically tilted to Bryce. Still trying to process Lilliam being there, and now, the knowledge Lilliam had married one of the brothers, Em didn’t notice when Bud and Strike called for him. A minute later, the door behind her opened. She looked over her shoulder.
Dodge, jaw clenched, hands in fists, strode inside. Em knew him. He’d been with the club all those years ago. Since then, he’d had a son, Cullen, who was often at the compound and played with Della and Bree though he was younger.
Dodge’s gaze sliced behind her to Lilliam.
Lilliam started talking at him. “They’ve kidnapped me, and—” Her words died abruptly when Dodge moved.
Standing before Lilliam, Dodge’s body tense, anger vibrated from every pore. “I don’t give a fuck. I stopped giving a fuck a while back. Just ’cause I stopped giving a fuck didn’t mean I expected you to care even less about your kid.”
Shit. Lilliam was Cullen’s mother? How had Em not known this?
“Though I shouldn’t be surprised now, should I? ’Cause you never gave a shit.”
“Of course, I—”
“Shut it.” Dodge paused for a split second. Then his voice lowered an octave. “Before you fucked with me, you fucked with Trig. Imagine my surprise when I found out before that, you fucked with Rip, with Em. Worse than all that shit is you fuck with…” He slammed his hand against his chest. “My boy.”
Jabbing his finger in Lilliam’s face, he screamed, “Your son. In my eyes, you’re the worst piece of shit the earth spit out, so I don’t give a shit what happens to you. You give Rip what he wants. Then you sign the divorce papers and get gone. By gone, I mean you get the fuck out of Wadden. You go somewhere I’ll never see your face again.”
With those last words, Dodge stormed out of the room.
“Tell her.” This came from Bud, his patience fraying by the look on his face.
“Like she’d believe me anyway.”
Bud closed the distance between himself and Lilliam, gripping her arm roughly. His voice deadly, he said, “I think you forgot where you are. I think you forgot what we used to do for a living. Think you forgot you’ve fucked with a lot of us, and all of us are people you don’t fuck with ’cause that punishment is…” He leaned into her. “Severe.”
Finally, something sunk in. Lilliam’s eyes widened. She turned to Em then reluctantly looked at her. “I made you think I fucked him, but I never did.”
Lilliam said it softly. Because she didn’t want Em to know, because she wanted to prolong her pain, Em didn’t know, but she heard. She heard it clearly, but she didn’t say anything. Like everything that happened since she walked into that room and found Lilliam inside, she was still trying to process it.
It took a moment, and when it settled, the magnitude of what Lilliam admitted hit her. Her throat went dry. The room began to twirl, again, this time much faster. Closing her eyes, she swallowed the bile rising in the back of her throat. Her hands went to Bryce, one gripping his stomach, the other his back, nails digging into his skin.
She left him, the man she loved, and took Bree…
Bree had gone without a father…
Bryce missed five years of his daughter’s life…
All that time wasted—for nothing. And all because of her, because she believed Lilliam. Why had she?
She parted her eyes, realizing belatedly Bryce now stood in front of her, staring down at her. Hands gripping her arms, he’d called her name at least twice.
“Tell me.”
His brows furrowed. “What?”
“Is it true?”
He swallowed. “Knew you wouldn’t believe me. That’s why I’ve been looking for her for weeks. I’d thought you’d believe her.”
A rush of tears came because of what he said, because of what it meant. He hadn’t told her himself because he didn’t trust her to trust him.
She shook her head. “Why would you think I wouldn’t believe you?”
“’Cause you believed her.”
Shit. She had. She believed Lilliam so easily and never even confronted him. She messed up both their lives and worse, Bree’s, by believing Lilliam.
Em caught Lilliam coming out of their room, practically naked. Lilliam claimed she was fucking him. Em found a thong on their bed. It didn’t matter. She should’ve trusted him enough to ask him. What had she been so afraid of? Of having him admit it to her face? Of not being strong enough to walk away after staring into his peculiar, beautiful eyes? Of convincing herself she loved him too much to leave even if he’d cheated? Of letting herself settle for that?
“I need to hear it from you.”
Gaze holding hers, he released a breath then finally said, “I never wanted her. I never fucked her, not before you, not while we were together, not after you left.”
Good God, what had she done? She’d ruined their lives!
Her chest tightened so much it made it hard to breathe. She was hot, sweating, and the tears were coming so fast, she couldn’t hold them back. No! She couldn’t give that woman the pleasure of knowing how much she hurt.
Her hands firm against Bryce’s chest, she shoved him. Not expecting it, he lost hold of her and stumbled back. She took advantage, side-stepped, and walked past him. Face to face with Lilliam. Even in her position, Lilliam managed to look snarky. Classic bitch.
Em balled her hands into fists then swung. Knocking her to one side, Lilliam fell to the floor. Em pounced, climbing on top of her, punching again and again until she lost count.
An arm tightened around her waist pressing her back to a hard chest. Then he spoke against her neck. “Stop fighting. Gonna hurt yourself.”
She caught her breath. Strike and Bud lifted Lilliam and hauled her out of the room. Then everything she held back came crashing down. The magnitude of what an idiot she’d been, the guilt, all she missed, all he and Bree had, the hurt she caused him, herself, and especially Bree compounded until she was gasping. Tears flowed down her face; gut-wrenching sobs tore through her, and the whole time, he, the man she hurt, held her close.
His mouth at her ear, arms wrapped around her, he pleaded, “Don’t fight me, Em. Don’t fuckin’ fight me.”
She wanted more than anything not to, but she didn’t deserve him. So she fought, arms and legs pushing at him, trying to make him release her, struggling to get away. He let her go a split second to make her face him. She took advantage, shoved him, and took a series of steps away.
He rushed her, circled his arms around her back and neck, hauled her to him, and squeezed her. “I’m not letting you go, babe. Made that mistake once, not doing it again. So you wanna fight, fight, but you’re not catching me by surprise again, meaning I’m not letting you go. Not for a second.”
That slashed through her causing an ache so deep it silenced her sobs.
Cupping the back of her head, he angled her face to his, and his tortured stare locked with hers. “I walked around a long time blind ’cause all I saw was you even when you were nowhere in sight. I’m not doing it again, not letting you go.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop shaking, couldn’t feel anything but that ache, a pain she felt everywhere but especially her heart.
No way she’d ever doubt him now. In so many words, in actions, he proved how much he loved her. Because he wouldn’t let her go, because he forgave her, she knew he loved her more, much more than she ever thought possible.
Panting, she shook her head. “Can’t b-believe you f-forgive me.”
“You’ll forgive me too.” His hold over her softened though not completely.
“What for?”
“I’ve had some time to think about this. ’Cause I have, I know if I’d been completely honest with you back then, you wouldn’t’ve believed her.” His eyes darkened. “The truth is she’d been trying to get me to fuck her for a while.”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t make a difference—”
“Yeah, Em, it fuckin’ does ’cause you would’ve known she was making moves on me, and you would’ve realized she was playing you from the get-go, and you would’ve never questioned me. You would’ve never questioned us. You would’ve stayed.”
She shut her eyes and swallowed. “Don’t do that. Don’t blame yourself.”
He shook his head. “I’m not. This isn’t my fault. It isn’t yours. It’s hers. Now, we got us back, so she loses, not us.”
Tears continued to trek down her cheeks. “But—”
“No, buts, Em. It happened. We move on. We have moved on. We’re married. We got Bree. We’re gonna make another baby. We’re gonna be happy and make so many good memories, we’re gonna forget this shit ever happened.”
God, who was this man? Biting the side of her lip, her thought slipped out. “I don’t know you at all.”
His face softened. “Yeah, you do.” He dropped his head resting his forehead against hers. “Proving my point, I never said it, but I’ve always felt this way about you. If you would’ve known, you wouldn’t’ve left.”
God, he was killing her. She curved her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. “You showed it. You didn’t say it, but I felt it, felt loved.”
“I should’ve said it, babe. Should’ve said it every day ’cause I loved you every second of every day.”
She closed her eyes tightly, feeling too much, some of it bad, most of it good. When she parted her lids, she said on an exhale, “Love you, Bryce.”
He grinned. “Love you, Em.” His hand slid up her cheek and back into her hair. “We gotta go. I’ve got another surprise.” He turned and glided his hand down her back and side and along her arm to grab her hand. Then he lightly tugged her forward.
“Not sure I want to see it.”
Over his shoulder, he asked, “Why?”
She smiled. “You kind of suck at surprises.”
His brows furrowed.
“This isn’t the kind of surprise you give your wife on your wedding night.”
His lips quirked up. “It’s a good way to start our marriage, clean slate.”
She couldn’t argue with that.
He smirked. “‘Sides, I guarantee you’ll like this one.”