Page 220 of One Big Little Secret

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” I say, an excuse so pathetic I almost smile. Almost. “The fact is, I couldn’t say any of this shit over the phone. I had to see you. I wanted—” I stop cold. WhatI really wanted was to make sure I didn’t scare her away. “I wanted to see you.”

“Really? You could’ve fooled me. The way you stormed out that night—” Her throat bobs, proving this entire conversation haunts her as much as me.

And clearly, I still have a lot of explaining to do.

But the stubborn bastard in me folds his arms. I was the prick who left, but not without good reason.

“Can you blame me? After you said you were leaving for the Ozarks? All I ever had on my mind was a future together, especially after Arlo got sick.”

She looks away quickly.

“Okay, thatwasa mistake.” Her breath hisses out and she backs up a step. “And look, I’m sorry, okay? I should have been more open with my feelings. I shouldn’t have talked like I could just freeze you out and run. Deep down, I never could.”

Her throat ticks harshly.

“Lady Bug,” I growl, moving closer. “That much honesty takes practice. If you can learn to forgive and forget, so can I.”

“Yeah, but God, this isn’t what I wanted to talk about. I imagined this going differently.”

I nod. “There was more kissing involved in my mind.”

A fucking jackass comment, maybe, but it makes her look up at me sharply with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Kissing?” I hate how foreign the word sounds on her lips.

Truth be told, I imagined us doing a hell of a lot more than kissing, but that’s not the point.

“I came here to tell you I fucked up by leaving. Maybe I still had to, but it could’ve gone down differently, yeah. I had to chase down Evelyn. I didn’t have to freeze you out when we were in the thick of a crisis nobody should ever experience.”

Hurt shadows her face.

For a second, I think she’ll turn away and run back in the house, which I’d deserve. But then her head tilts and a smile touches her mouth.

Whatever comes next, I know she’s not about to dump my ass.

“You mean your big ego lets you admit when you screwed up?”

“My ego allows a damn lot of things. Even when it gets big and overgrown like a weed.”

Her smile widens into the expression I’ve been waiting for, that shine in her eyes that brings out the gold. “Somehow, I don’t think you came all this way to tell me that.”

“I didn’t.” I move in, trailing my mouth over her ear, loving the way she shudders and how her breath hitches. “And if you’d stop sassing me for a minute, I might be able to tell you my other mistakes.”

“So talk. Spill it,” she challenges.

Growling, I take her earlobe between my teeth and pull, not bothering to hide my smug smile. “My first mistake was not staying longer that first night when you asked.”

“Would it have prevented this?”

“Don’t know, but I should’ve stepped up for you and Arlo. Turning over the house for proof didn’t help much anyway.” I turn my attention to her neck, tasting her skin. She grips my biceps, digging her nails in. “Mistake number two—not keeping you chained up in my bed. I never should’ve let you go home.”

“Who said I would’ve stayed?” Her laugh tickles.

Absolutely no one, but that messes with my narrative, so I ignore it.

“We both know you would have. I might’ve convinced you then and there to say fuck the Ozarks.” I brush my lips over her skin until I feel her pulse, tracing it with my tongue until she shivers. “My biggest mistake was hands down letting you go.”

“When?”

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