Page 46 of Wes

Recalling his history of self-inflicting pain and drug abuse, my heart breaks for him.

“No need to go there, bro. I’ve got your meaning.” I raise my hands. “And you’re absolutely on point. I didn’t lose the drive. I just couldn’t make myself fuck anyone else. I tried and ended up jerking off under a cold shower, remembering the night I had with Maria. Every. Fucking. Time.”

Erik shakes his head. “I think you know damn well she’s the one. And since you do, you’d better stick to her. Don’t let her slip through your fingers.”

I huff, frustrated with my own shortcomings and the certainty Maria hasn’t been completely honest with me about her past. Something dark and heavy weighs on her and she doesn’t trust me enough to share her burden. Even though I’d gladly help her carry it.

Unable to sort all this out at the moment, I stir the conversation away from me.

I tap a finger on my chin. “Hold on to her, you say.” With a pointy look, I ask, “Like you didn’t do with Christine?”

“She dumped me,” he growls.

I hit a nerve.

I scoff. “So, that’s your excuse for going back to toxic Carlotta? You remember she almost killed you, right? Cause I’ll never forget it.”

Erik gave us quite the scare years ago when he overdosed after partying all night with then girlfriend Carlotta. She left him for dead without even a text to any of us.

“We’re not really together.” He waves his hand to indicate the room.

“How do you mean?” I glance around. The door to the bedroom is wide open and only one person slept there last night. In the sitting room, there’s no sign a woman has been here. “Have I been this clueless? I didn’t realize you two weren’t sharing a room.”

He chuckles. “You’ve been too busy pushing your head up your own ass to notice anything else.”

“Asshole.” I punch his upper arm.

He raises his hands in the air, framing his head with them. “Not judging you. You’ve got a lot going on. It’s understandable.”

“Why the charade then?”

Erik pauses before answering, “I never meant for this to be a ruse. After Christine ended things, I honestly thought I should try to include Carlotta in my life, for Liam’s sake. Never in a romantic way though. I can’t stomach that. She likes money and I have too much of it.”

“We all do.”

“The truth is Christine made such a positive impact on Liam. I also realized how much my son lost when she left.” He shrugs. “I mean, he didn’t have his mother around before and now that she seemed willing to be–”

“Sure. And you believed Ms. Carlotta Driver.”

He guffaws. “I’m not that stupid and this is beside the point. All I’m saying here is – be smarter than me. Don’t make the same mistakes I made. The truth is I’ve never seen you this grounded, or this happy, since you’ve met Maria.”

Although my head rebels against his words, my heart knows he’s right. I’ve got to get my shit together before I lose the woman I love.

“Fuck!” I burst out, butterflies knocking themselves out in my belly.

“That’s the thanks I get for the free therapy session?” He laughs.

“Screw you,” I reply with a grin wider than the horizon. I smooch his cheek and jump to my feet. “And thank you. I’ve just realized I need to be somewhere else.”

He points to the notebook. “What about your song? Thought you wanted to keep working on it.”

“Later,” I shout over my shoulder on my way out. “Or maybe tomorrow,” I add from the hall as I rush to my suite.

After sliding the keycard to unlock the double door, I swing them open, slide the ‘do not disturb’ tag on a handle, and shut them behind me. Just to be on the safe side, I also bolt them.

When I walk into the bedroom, the sound of running water from the bathroom puts a smile on my face. I get rid of my clothes as I stalk to the shower stall. The hot jets have fogged the glass walls, but I hear Maria’s humming as she turns off the shower.

Before she grabs the towel hanging on the wall beside the door, I open it and step inside.

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