Page 194 of Wanted Beta

“Well, I’m quitting my course now, anyway, so the college thing wouldn’t have mattered, but I know how your mother is, and I know the breakup hurt you as much as it hurt me.”

That’s a hard one to admit, but I can see how unhappy he is without me.

He didn’t just hurt me. He pushed away the only person who loved him.

That wasn’t an easy thing to do.

His heart was in the right place.

“I only care about you,” he says.

“Well, it’s time you started caring about yourself, too,” I tell him, bringing out a wry smile. “I’m not willing to have a mate who doesn’t look after himself.”

“You’re still willing to have me as your mate?” he sounds astounded, as he should.

He said some awful things on the day we broke up. It’s going to take a while to forget all of that.

“On a few conditions,” I add, not willing to make it easy for him, even if I’ve missed him like crazy. “One, come meet my sister and two, apologise to Jack.”

“And?” he asks, as he takes my outstretched hand.

“And I’ll think of the rest of the conditions later.”

“Fair,” he tells me.

I lead him into the living room to meet two of the most important people in my life.

He behaves like the perfect gentleman, and I see traces of the boy I knew in this new version of Rourke Mariner.

He hasn’t changed too much. He just has some rougher edges now.

I smile at him, and he smiles back.

It feels like everything’s starting to click together.

All the puzzle pieces of my life are about to make a complete picture.

It’s exciting. I can hardly wait to see what it looks like at the end.

Chapter Eighty-Nine

Beth

I’m never going to be a morning person. That much is obvious. Of course, mornings could be about to get a little better now that I have mates.

The sound of my phone’s alarm makes me groan.

I roll over and bump into Rourke, who reaches out and passes me the offending item.

“Thanks,” I murmur as I switch off the alarm.

I let him sleep over, without the possibility of sex.

I made it another condition, but I wanted him here because I’ve missed him.

Having him hold me all night reminded me of some of the good times we had together in the past. It made me crave as many moments as I can get with him now and in the future.

“I never want to be without you again,” I tell him as I set the phone down on the nightstand nearest my side of the bed.

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