Page 100 of Married to the Frenemy

He pulls his lips into a tight line as he briefly looks to the ceiling. It doesn’t escape my notice that he squeezes Fred even tighter. Just like Maggie does whenever she’s scared.

“I couldn’t, Haley,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper. “I wanted to. I just…” He steps toward me. “You had a bright future ahead of you. I was a convicted felon. I didn’t want to bring you down. I figured if I didn’t write you back, if I refused to see you, if I made you think I didn’t care about you, you’d forget about me and have the life you deserved. I didn’t want to ruin your life more than I already had.”

“I told you. You didn’t ruin my life, Beckham. You gave me life.”

“Maybe. But at the time…” He shakes his head, agony and regret covering the lines of his face. “When I saw your lifeless body on the pavement…”

He steals a glance at my leg. The scar that was once prominent has faded, but it’s still there. It will always be there. A reminder of everything we’ve been through.

“Even before that night, your dad wanted me to stay away from you because he thought I was bad news. That I’d ruin your life. And in that moment, I realized he was right.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“It was, Haley. You didn’t fall off that deck by accident. I was so angry that I couldn’t think or see straight, and you paid the price. So I made a promise to myself that I’d do whatever was necessary never to ruin your life again.” He clutches Fred tighter still. “And now… I’m fucking petrified that I’ll keep ruining your life. That I’ll ruin Maggie’s life. It’s what I do. What I’ve always done. I have a criminal record. No one should want to be with me. No one should love me. I don’t deserve it. Don’t deserve you. And I certainly don’t deserve Maggie.” He draws in a deep breath as he looks at Fred.

“But as I was sitting in my ridiculously quiet townhouse with the walls distressingly vacant of Maggie’s art, I realized something. Or maybe Fred helped me realize something.”

“What’s that?” I ask somewhat timidly.

He focuses his gaze on me. “Maggie was willing to risk being scared for me.”

A tear slides down my cheek, my heart expanding at how amazing my little girl is.

“Maybe it’s time for me to risk being scared for her. And you. Please tell me it’s not too late for us, Haley.” He hesitates, swallowing hard. Then he chokes out, “I love you.”

“What did you say?” I ask.

He takes a deep breath before closing the gap between us and placing a warm hand against my cheek.

“I love you, Haley. And I hope you still love me. Hope I haven’t completely fucked this up. I was just…scared. Still am. I’m scared of hurting you. Scared of hurting Maggie. Scared of not being enough for either of you. Scared you’ll wake up one day and realize what a colossal fuck up I am. But I’d rather be fucking petrified with you than live another day without you.”

Neither one of us says anything for several long moments as his confession rings out around us.

Then a slow smile curves across my lips as I drape an arm over his shoulder. “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

His muscles relax as he inches closer. “Loving you is probably the easiest thing I’ve ever done. You make it easy.”

“Better be careful, or I might just find you tolerable again.”

A low chuckle rumbles from his chest as his mouth hovers over mine. “We wouldn’t want that now, would we?”

“Certainly not,” I reply breathlessly, anticipation coiling through my veins.

“Should I say something to make you find me insufferable again?”

“Definitely.”

“Okay.” Licking his lips, he places a hand on my hip and guides me backwards out of the closet. “I hate how much life you’ve brought to this house in the past few months. Hate coming home to the sound of you and Maggie singing and playing.”

He nuzzles my neck, his teeth lightly biting my skin.

“I hate having to share our time with you,” I pant. “You’re a horrible addition to our little family.”

“I also hate the fact that my former bachelor pad is now covered with amateur drawings.”

“It must really be inhibiting your ability to get laid,” I retort as he peppers kisses along the column of my neck.

“You have no idea. It’s been absolute torture.”

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