Page 65 of Wes

“Let me guess. She hired a graphic designer to alter the photos?” I ask, smiling for the first time in weeks.

Wes switches his seat for a spot beside me. We lace our fingers together and I bring them to my lap. He folds at the waist to press his mouth on the back of my hand. And he never stops. I comb his hair with the fingers of my free hand.

After another long moment, he sits up again, with the most brilliant grin on his lips. “Oops, just broke my promise.”

“Technically, we’ve cleared the air. Don’t you think?”

At least, that’s what it feels like. The pressure in my chest has disappeared. I’m not gasping for oxygen anymore. And my heart is beating fast like a hummingbird and feeling just as light as the tiny bird.

He guffaws. “Glad to hear you say that because it feels like a humongous rock has just been lifted from my chest.” In an over-the-top manner, he takes a deep breath and blows out air. “I can breathe again.”

“Silly man.” I cup his cheek in my free hand.

He snuggles against it before planting a wet kiss in the palm. Warmth envelops me like a blanket. I bring his face closer and dust my lips on his. He presses a hard kiss on my mouth for a hot second.

Pulling away, he admonishes me in a sultry tone, “Don’t tempt me, love. Or I’ll never finish telling you this story.”

“I missed you, missed us,” I whisper.

“Missed you, too.” He gazes into my eyes until he blinks and shakes his head. “Where was I? Oh, yes. Remember how I would wear the jacket to every fucking interview I sat down for during the tour?”

I roll my eyes.

He goes on, “I wouldn’t stop talking about it. I told everyone, and their dog, how much I’d changed after we met. I said that you’d grounded me and how important you were in my life. Anyone watching videos of those interviews learned about the jacket and who had given it to me.”

“That actually makes sense,” I comment, a little surprise. “The detective found out all that in only two weeks?”

“She blabbed about a lot of that in the exclusive interview she gave to TMI. The rest he gleaned from talks with people close to her and to Claire herself. She doesn’t hide what she did because she believes she hasn’t done anything wrong. For real.”

My heart breaks for this woman, now that I understand her motives.

“Are you pressing charges?”

Wes offers a prompt reply. “No. She’s gotten mental health issues, serious ones. She needs treatment, not punishment. I asked Robert to work out a deal with her parents to ensure she gets the psychological support she needs. If they don’t comply, we’ll go to the police with the evidence we’ve gathered.”

My chest swells as pride fills my heart. This amazing man!

“I love you so much it hurts,” I whisper. “Have you finished the story? Can I tempt you now?”

I yelp when he pulls me onto his lap, fusing our lips together in a scorching kiss that touches my soul and heals my heart.

22

WES

God, I’ve missed her touch so fucking much. I missed her lips rubbing against mine, soft as roses, sweet as peaches. I tease them with my tongue, gliding it along before trapping the ample curve of her bottom lip between my teeth. Dragging it, I pull away to gaze into her eyes.

She hisses, her eyelids halfway closed. This image of abandon and lust has haunted me these past two weeks.

“I thought I’d lost you. I freaked out, didn’t know how to go on without you,” I croak.

Maria cups my face in her hands, dusts my cheeks with her thumbs, and rests her forehead on mine.

Shaking her head, she murmurs, “I holed up in here because I was a mess. I didn’t want the kids and staff to see me like this, to worry about me.” She pauses and rubs her nose down mine, slanting her head and pressing her lips across my mouth. She adds, “But each second I stayed away from you, without us, tore at my heart, piece by piece. I can’t go through this again. I won’t survive.”

“You won’t have to. Ever. I promise.”

She crushes her mouth on my lips, invading my mouth with her tongue, swirling it around mine.

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