Page 38 of Wildest Dreams

He kept his side of the promise.

I broke the promise into a million pieces.

Shattered him in the process.

Then I ran, far, far away.

I set up a new life in Nashville and vowed I would never step back into my hometown of Lovelock Bay, that was of course, until I got the news from my agent.

Clay was dead.

Murdered and left in the cold.

My daughter had lost her father.

There were no feelings between us. Clay liked to remind me of that every time we were together. I was just his plaything when he came to visit. He had connections in Nashville so whenever he was there for a business meeting, he hit me up. He made me feel cheap and worthless, but I still let him.

I wanted to feel and if that meant feeling with Clay then I was content.

Then came Lainey.

He didn't take the news lightly, but he promised to always be there for her. He didn't know anything about my past, I never went into it with him. I didn't really go into it with anyone butTripp. Sure, most of the town knew my tragic backstory, but I didn't go out my way to tell them. Most of it was gossip, each time it was spread, another layer of lies coated their tongues. I didn't have it in me to fight my corner, and once I left, I left that part of me behind.

The piece that was tucked deep into the crevices of Tripp’s heart.

I never wanted it back.

He hated me.

I wish I hated him. It would make this situation a little easier to cope with.

But I don't.

How could I hate Tripp Rivera. The one who pieced me back together, the one who promised me the world.

Slipping under the water, I hold my breath and let my lungs burn for just a moment before I rise up, a small gasp leaving me as I fill my lungs with oxygen.

I give myself another five minutes in the hot tub before I clamber out, wrapping the warm towel around my slender body and padding across the landing towards my bedroom. Pushing the handle down, I freeze when I see Tripp standing, topless, with a softly snoring Lainey.

My eyes finally move from her to him, his soft brown eyes never lifting from me.

“She was crying,” he says quietly, rocking his body side to side. “I didn't want to disturb your bath, so I thought I would try and settle her.”

And my heart aches heavily in my chest.

He turns to face me, head tilting to the side, eyes cast down on my brown-haired beauty.

I tighten my towel around my body, now suddenly very aware that I am in nothing but a towel. He steps closer to me, the musky smell of his sweat mixed with his cologne, and I amtransported back to the broken teen who looked at Tripp Rivera like he was my world and everything in between.

But I suppose back then, he was.

I had nothing else to cling onto but him.

He delicately scoops Lainey off his bare chest and holds her out for me to take. My eyes widen, one of my hands holding my towel and I look at him helplessly.

“Shit, of course,” he curses quietly, turning his back to me and gently placing Lainey into the crib.

I step back, the wall pressing against my bare shoulders as I try and put some distance between us.

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