Chapter 23
Zane
Dillon’s doorman had let me into the building without any issues. It had to be a positive thing that she hadn’t taken me off her allowed visitors list. I knocked on the door promptly at eight and hoped that the huge bundle of peonies that I’d bought her would help soften her up a little to listen to my apology. She opened the door with a tentative smile.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” I whispered back.
“Come on in.”
I walked inside and held the flowers out for her to take. My fingers itched to pull her to me and kiss her, but I wasn’t sure if she’d smack me or not. Her smile grew when she saw the soft pink petals.
“You remembered my favorite flower.”
I nodded. She didn’t know yet, but I remembered a hell of a lot more than that.
“My mom sent you a card too.” I pulled the envelope from the pocket of my jacket and handed that to her as well. “I had to fight her off when I told her I was coming to see you.”
Dillon smiled. “How’s she holding up?”
“Better than you would think. She finally admitted to us that the only reason she was still with David was because she was sick. She didn’t want to face a divorce and the cancer at the same time.”
I watched her face change from hopeful to incredibly tense. “I want to tell you this so you don’t find out later—I want us to start being honest with one another. I found out about your mom’s cancer while I was digging around.” I started to say something, but she held out her hands to stop me. “It wasn’t my secret to tell. I hoped you already knew, but at the wedding, I realized you guys didn’t.”
I reached out and took her hand in mine. “I probably would have been more upset if you had told me. I knew something was wrong, but I was in denial. Maybe Justin and I should have pushed harder, but neither one of us wanted to know. Now that we do,” I trailed off.
“Is it curable?” she asked quietly.
I studied her before answering, knowing this was a hard topic for her. “I think so. She’s already started treatment. I have a few friends in oncology that I’m going to speak with, but I think it was caught early enough that we can get her into remission.”
Dillon breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good to know.”
I watched her turn away and wipe at her eyes, attempting to hide the tears gathering in them. She went to stir one of the pots on her stove. I tugged off my jacket and hung it on one of the hooks next to the door. Dillon was trying to mask her nerves as she busied herself with our dinner, but I knew her better than that. Her eyes jerked up to mine when I took the spoon out of her hands.
“We should talk.”
She nodded and let me to lead her to the couch. I took her hand in mine as we sat down. My lips brushed over her fingertips as I kissed each once. She shivered and for the first time since I’d walked in the door, I felt confident that we could do this. “I’ll start. I’m so sorry Dillon. I didn’t mean what I said to Kade. It was self-preservation because it scared me how easily I could fall in love with you. I haven’t had anything like this for a long time and I didn’t know how you felt, so it made things even harder to accept. I’m an asshole.”
She smiled. “Sometimes.”
I laughed for the first time in a week. It sounded odd to my own ears. “I want this to work.” I leaned closer and gazed into her gorgeous emerald eyes that shone with hope. “Is that something you want?”
A single tear slid down her cheek and I fought back the urge to wipe it away because I wanted her answer. Anything I did might change her mind.
“You’re such an idiot,” she choked out. I still didn’t know if that was good or bad until she launched herself into my arms. She threaded her fingers through my hair and kissed me hard.
As much as I wanted to lay her down on that couch and fuck her mindless, we needed to finish talking. I needed to hear the words that she forgave me for being such an asshole. Her lips followed mine as I went to pull away. She groaned as I broke the contact.
I cupped her face in my hands and pressed my forehead against hers. “I need to hear you say it.”
“Yes. That doesn’t mean we don’t have more talking to do, but yes, I forgive you. And I love you too.”
I pushed forward, pressing my lips against hers in a savage kiss. We laid down on the couch and I relished the feeling of her beneath me. A random thought came into my head and I smiled into the kiss. This time, I was going to use the girlfriend name whether she liked it or not.