Page 100 of Sweet Wicked Vows

“I canceled the trip,” he said slowly. “Before I left for the airport, how we left things… I didn’t like it.”

He came back…for me.

My stomach dipped but I ignored it. “So what, you just come back and start punching people at our front door?”

“Not just people,ma douceur.He is your ex-fiancé. He gave up his right to lay a single finger on you the day he walked away, or did you suddenly forget?”

God damn bastard.

He was baiting me.

“He left. He walked away and didn’t look back until now. Funny how he reappeared the second you slipped that wedding band onto your finger,” he pressed on. “And now what? He wants to swoop in and be your knight in shining armor? Rescue you from the villain ruining your life, huh?”

“And so what if he is?”

His jaw twitched. “Do you want him to?”

No.

There was a time when I was so riddled with heartbreak thatI would have done anything to get back to Laurence. Paid any price. But in the last six months with Jaxon, he patched my heart in a way I didn’t think possible.

I didn’t want Laurence.

I wanted Jaxon, but I didn’t want to want a man who would walk away in six months.

He stepped toward me, tension rolling across his shoulders and down his neck. “If that’s what you want, tell me.”

“Do you even care? You are leaving me come August, so why does it matter?”

He said nothing, stopping inches from me. A vein throbbed on his temple. His hands curled into white-knuckled fists. He was holding back, putting his usual restraint on. “I have my reasons.”

I stood my ground. “You want to know what I think? I think you care because you actually care about me. You care and it scares the shit out of you. Because this—” I poked his chest. “—was meant to be nothing more than business to you, and now it’s more. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and rather than actually tell me, you build walls every time you find yourself getting too close.”

The tension was thick enough to cut with a rusty spoon.

“I’m tired of the hot and cold treatment, Jaxon. I am exhausted not knowing where I stand with you,” I pushed. It was now or never. “Because if I am right, and you do care about me, then I need you to say it. Say it and we can stop pretending. You need to tell me because I don’t think I can stand any more heartbreak.”

“You want the truth?”

Yes. No.

“Yes.”

He exhaled unsteadily. “‘Caring’about you doesn’t even scratch the surface on how I feel. You’re right, it scares me how much you make me feel. The thought of you walking away terrifies me. It was meant to be simple, easy, clean cut. One year and done. Iwarned you not to fall in love with me, I guess somewhere along the way I forgot to heed my own warning.”

The air was knocked from my lungs.

I warned you not to fall in love with me, I guess somewhere along the way I forgot to heed my own warning.

Everything fell away with those words.

My trembling hands cupped his face. “I didn’t listen to your warning either.”

Chapter ThirtyOne

Telling Evelyn how I felt didn’t feel like a mistake the second my hands delved into her curls, and my lips melted against hers like they were made to fit.

She reared back, lips swollen and eyes heavy. “I love you.”

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