Page 84 of Return To You

“That’s a fake!” Piper snaps, getting my attention again, and I grin wide.

“I can assure you, Piper, that both rings are real, and both belong to my woman,” I gloat.

Piper’s eyes darken with anger as Rose decides to add salt to the wound. “So how can I be a whore, Piper? Last I checked, Noah and I, we’re each other’s only, we have a child together, and even after two years apart because of your manipulations, we still came back together, and I even moved him into my apartment.”

And that does it—Piper screeches and pounces, fists up, ready to hit Rose. Joel pulls me back a little as I go to grab the bitch, not willing for her to hurt my girl. I growl, about to snap at him, but before I can open my mouth, Rose steps forward and swings her fist, hitting Piper’s nose.

Piper screams and falls to the floor, but no one steps in to help.

I smile as Rose snaps, “Stay away from my family, and stay away from my man!”

Oh yeah, we’re so going to be okay….

I grab Rose’s hips and pull her to me, pressing her back to my front, and wrapping my arms around her, grabbing the still-fisted hand, and rubbing it as the cops walk over.

Piper sees them and cries, “She-she hit me, I-I want to-to press charges!”

Officer Pal, whom I’ve had a lot of contact with these past two weeks, smirks, looks at his partner, and asks, “Funny, I swearI saw her attack Ms. Lopez, and she simply defended herself. What did you see, Andy?”

The black-haired officer, Andy, grins and agrees, “That’s exactly what I saw….”

Officer Pal grabs his cuffs and places Piper under arrest, reading her her rights. “Piper Andrews, you are under arrest for the facilitating the attempted rape of Gina Turner, and for the attempted assault of Rose Lopez. You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law….”

Piper’s eyes widen, and I grin as the officer forces her to her feet.

“No, wait, I-I, no, it wasn’t my idea. It was Ryan, not me, please…” she pleads, sobbing, but everyone ignores her as the officer drags her out.

Andy grins as her cries are heard down the hallway. He asks, “Can I have your autograph, Noah?”

Everyone laughs, and I smile. I take his notebook and pen, signing it, then passing it back before thanking him. Then I wrap my arms around my girl, holding her to me as her arms wrap around my waist.

Now that Piper is out of the way, I’m hoping the pain of our past fades, and we can finally become one again.

A few hours later, after saying bye to our families, I’m walking down the stairs after putting Noah to bed. I notice Rose instantly, my body gravitating toward where she’s standing in nothing but the tank that I wore in tonight’s show, looking at the pictures.

Her here, in the home I bought for us, holding onto the future I desperately wanted for us, everything just fits.

It’s how it’s meant to be. Now, though, I just need her to trust me again, to wear my ring, so we can finally put our past to bed and, hopefully, make some more babies….

Slowly, I walk toward her. She doesn’t turn around, keeping her eyes on the photos above the fireplace. There’s a new one; it’s of her and Diego after she gave birth, which is her main focus.

I wrap my arms around her, placing my chin on her shoulder, and she leans into me.

“You were never going to let me go back to Fremont, were you?” she asks on a whisper, and I sigh, putting my face into the crook of her neck.

“I don’t want you to, no, but I know you have to. You have your jobs, your friends, and your apartment to deal with. Commitments. All I’m trying to do, Rose, is show you that this can work, you being here with me. This is your home, Petal, yours and Diego’s.” I turn her in my arms and hold her close, her hands going to my biceps, our eyes connecting.

“I love you, Rose,” I tell her, “but I know you need to take the path you're taking. I know you need to trust me in your own time. I’m just showing you this house; it’s not mine, Petal, it’s ours. It’ll be ready whenever you are, just like I will be.”

Her eyes tear up, and she leans up on her tiptoes, placing her lips against mine and rasping, "Thank you for giving me time. I know I haven’t said it enough, but I do love you, Noah, with everything that I am….”

I smile against her lips and kiss her hard, our tongues instantly tangling as I bend a little and grip her thighs, lifting her. She wraps her legs around my waist, her arms around my neck, and slowly, I guide us upstairs to our room, where I proceed to make love to her until the early hours of the morning, happy that she’s here with me, while praying she’ll quit her jobs and come to rely on me more.

I can’t imagine a life where she isn’t my universe.

thirty

Rose – Three Months Later

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