Page 106 of Revenge Vows

“Can I spend the night with you?” he asks. I stare at him in shock. “You can say no if you want to,” he says hurriedly, “but if you’re okay with it, I want you next to me tonight.”

Against every decent bone in my body, I nod.

He stretches out his hands, and I take it. When we get back into the cabin, Bunny’s loud snore greets us both.

“How did you survive this?” he asks me, as he points to Bunny snoring.

I laugh. “Cut the poor guy some slack, he hasn’t slept in days.”

He turns to me. “Now I definitely have to be with you. It’s a matter of survival.”

I chuckle as I open the door to my room. He walks in and settles down on the bed.

“I’ll change outside,” I say, picking up my nightdress.

“You don’t have to go outside,” he says. Our eyes meet, and he panics. “I mean—I could go outside and come in after you’ve changed.”

I smile at how cute he looks, all panicked and worried. “Or you could look away.”

“Right—right,” he says, turning away. “You can look now,” I call out to him. He opens his eyes, and he turns to look at me. He stares, almost looking awestruck at me.

“Is—is there a problem? I could wear a T-shirt if you think this is too much,” I say, looking down at the short black night dress I have on.

“No, it’s—it’s no problem at all,” he tells me.

“All right,” I reply, walking up and sitting beside him. We sit in awkward silence before he clears his throat.

“We should go to bed now, shouldn’t we?” he asks. I nod.

In the most painfully awkward manner, we both get into bed, lying side by side robotically. Suddenly, I burst out laughing. He turns his head to me.

“Share the joke?”

I turn to him. “This is the first time we are in a bed together, and we aren’t, you know—fucking.”

He breaks out into a smile that he fights to hide. “I still want you in my arms,” he says softly.

“Well, mister, you have a bad shoulder; we can’t risk that.”

He nods. “Can I at least hold your hand?”

I nod. He opens his palms up, and I place my hand into it.

“Can you ever forgive me for all the hurt I have caused you?”

I sigh. “I don’t know.”

He squeezes my hands. “I don’t deserve you.”

A lump grows in my throat. Maybe this was the right time to tell him about the baby. I turn to see his eyes flutter shut. His hand is still tightly holding onto mine. Maybe it’s not quite yet the right time.

I scoot over to him and lean in as close as I can to feel the heat from his body. Then, I shut my eyes and let myself melt into slumber.

In the middle of the night, I wake up to a quiet thud. I grab my phone and turn to Antonio, who sleeps soundly beside me. I gently get out of bed, careful not to wake him. The long beam of light from my phone guides me as I slip outside my room.

“Bunny, is that you?” I call softly. His loud snore gives me an answer. I stay still and listen for more sounds, but nothing more comes. I must be dreaming.

I sigh to myself as I walk to the kitchen. I pour myself a glass of water and settle down at the table to drink it. The gentle breeze from outside hits my back, and I turn to see the curtain fluttering. I walk over to the window and shut it, stopping the gust of wind.

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