Page 67 of Truths

Looking away from his intense gaze, she sighs. “I have feelings for you. I won't deny them, and I already admitted as much to you, but I was just a rebound. Rebounds never work.”

“That's not true.”

She laughs and looks at him again, tilting her head. “Rebounds rarely, if ever, work out long term.”

He shakes his head. “You weren't a rebound.”

“Yeah, I was.”

Nelson lets out a deep breath and braces himself on the counter. “I talked to Daphne and Max after taking care of Ryan. They know me, and I needed them to tell me if they thought the same thing I did. We all agreed on a few realizations.”

“Yeah? Are you on speaking terms with Max again?”

“I think so? I mean, it's kind of weird still. But when I told him what happened, he jumped up and asked if I needed help getting rid of the body. But that's when I really saw it. The way they are together. Plus, he had her tattoo her name above his cock, so hopefully it works out for them,” he says with a laugh. “But Daphne knew the truth. She forced me to see it and accept it, even though deep down I think I knew.”

Swallowing, Sutton wavers on whether she believes she wants to know or not. “Yeah?”

“First, I realized that she and I never loved each other. Which I already knew, but my stubborn streak wanted to be mad at Max. Hell, we barely liked each other, but she says you're good for me. We started as friends.”

“We did start as friends.”

“She saw us at the bar together, and she said the way I looked at you told her everything she needed to know. That I loved you.”

She lifts an eyebrow. “Shetoldyouhow you feel about me?”

“Yeah, and I tried to tell her she was wrong, even though I felt it before she said it. I don't fall in love. Nelson Parks doesn't allow a girl to get that close, which is also how she made me see there was no way she and I could have ever loved each other. She told me to stop lying to her, myself, and you. That the way she saw me looking at you was never how I looked at her. Or how she looked at me.”

“That doesn't mean-”

“I think about you all the time. Not being with you drives me crazy, and I have no interest in any other woman. Trust me, I've tried, and it fails. All I see is you, and I miss you. Sure, I miss the sex because you're fucking amazing, but it's more than that. We talked. Really talked, and we laughed. Daphne and I never laughed, and joking around with you is one of my favorite things to do.”

Her heart races. Could Nelson really love her? “You think you're in love because the start of the relationship is the honeymoon phase, but it'll fade. Do you really think you want this after the stars disappear from our eyes?”

“The whole way here, I kept thinking about you. And when I think about you, I start seeing the future. It involves a white dress, kids, and a house with a fence. To be completely honest, it freaks me out a bit because I've never fucking thought about that, but it feels like a good freak-out. Excitement, maybe.”

“You think you want to marry me and start a family?”

“I don't think I do, I know I do. Not tomorrow, but not in twenty years, either. Seeing you tonight, how scared you were, God, I've never felt anything like that before. I don't even know how to describe it, but all I wanted was to wrap you up in my arms and promise nothing bad will ever happen again. You should never feel that much fear. I wish I'd talked Cannon into letting Venom inflict the pain he wanted on that fucker.”

The words drip with sincerity, and Sutton doesn't know what to say. There's an honest truth in his words, and he's opening up more than he ever has before. She can't help it. She believes him.

“You don't have to answer me right now,” he says, pulling her from her thoughts. “I just want you to know I'm not going anywhere. This was a lot, and you've had more than an eventful night. I'm sure there's some processing that needs to happen.”

“Do you forgive Max?” she blurts out.

The answer to this question will determine whether she needs time to see if what he thinks he feels and what he feels are the same. Every part of her body hums as she waits for him to respond.

“Yes and no. I don't hold him being with Daphne against him. Not now. What I have to get over is the betrayal of them going behind my back. Plus, when seeing your ex-girlfriend fucking your older brother is how you find out, it kind of leaves a badtaste in your mouth. But I think buying the shop was a good move, and I'm happy she gets to keep her dad's place. Daphne and I also talked about trying to be real friends. Just friends. I'm not sure if that answers your question or not, but it's the truth.”

Sutton walks around the counter, and Nelson turns to face her directly. Her lips touch his as he says exactly what she wants to hear. She can understand being upset about being lied to, but he doesn't hate his brother for loving Daphne. And Nelson knows he never loved Daphne, either.

He wraps his arms around her, pulling her tightly against him while she hugs him. A reassuring embrace is really what she craves, and he doesn't seem bothered when she pulls her lips off his to rest her cheek against his chest. This is what she really needs.

“Tonight scared the shit out of me,” she says, her eyes closing. “When he started stabbing the door, I honestly believed he was going to kill me.”

“When I saw that door, I wanted to bring him back to life just to set him on fire.”

For some reason, the words entertain her, and she laughs. It's probably the stress of the night, but she can't help herself.

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