Page 126 of Playing Flirty

I blinked back tears and placed my palm on his cheek. “It’s not your fault.”

His expression relaxed under my touch before hardening once again. Turning around, my body straightened with anger as Shaun approached with their father following closely behind.

Face flushed, Shaun raised a warning eyebrow at his father. “Tell William what you told me.”

The older man—exactly the same height as Shaun but shorter than William—cleared his throat before lowering his gaze to his feet. “William, I’ve been meaning to talk to you—to apologize.”

William barely breathed.

“I… I went out of my way to be here, not only to see Shaun get married, but because I assumed it would be the only place I could see you.” He gazed at William through the same dark eyes I’d grown to love.

“You didn’t deserve my anger… or the way I treated you. It wasn’t fair,” he continued. “But your arrival threw my life upside down. Belinda wanted to leave, and Shaun suddenly had a brother he wanted to get to know. And everyone—every person who met you—knew I’d cheated on my wife.” He inhaled a deep breath. “It was easier to send you away, to blame you. When you weren’t around, we could pretend I hadn’t messed up, and I wasn’t the one at fault. But I was at fault—entirely. I couldn’t even blame your mother.” He tugged at his collar and breathed quickly. “She had no idea I was married.”

The Adam’s apple in William’s throat jumped.

Shaun jabbed his father with his elbow, his expression hard. “And?”

William’s father blew out another breath. “And I’m so sorry for all the awful things I made you believe about yourself. You don’t ruin things. You don’t spread misery—I did all that on my own. And judging by how close you and Shaun are, despite my efforts to keep the two of you apart, I realize I’ve missed out on years of joy we could have shared.”

Shaun crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes darting between his brother and their father.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me today, or ever,” their father continued. “But I wanted to tell you I’ve been in therapy, and Belinda and I have worked through a lot of this. But you. I have so many regrets when it comes to the way I treated you. William, you are more of a man than I will ever be, and I am so sorry that I made you feel like you weren’t good enough.”

Having said his piece, he turned to leave but stopped as William spoke in the quietest voice.

“Thank you,” William whispered.

I wasn’t sure if his words were meant for his father or his brother, but William’s father took them for himself.

Turning back toward William, he took a step forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle pat.

A smile spread across Shaun’s face, and he pulled his father and brother into his embrace.

After a moment, Shaun pulled away and swiped at his wet cheeks. “William, Rose: in you get. It’s almost time for your speeches.”

With a subtle nod at his father and brother, William weaved our fingers together and pulled me with him. As we walked away, I looked up at him, and he smiled down at me, his eyes shiny and red-rimmed. Pulling him to a stop, I stood on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

“I love you,” I whispered. “You okay?”

He grinned. “True love’s kiss really works.”

I bit my bottom lip. “You do the opposite of causing me misery.”

“Oh, I am well aware.” His sexy dimple popped in his cheek.

I threw a gentle punch, but he caught me and pulled me into an embrace.

Safe in the warmth of his arms and secure in his love for me, I looked up at him. “Dudley from Fun&Games called to set up a meeting for next week.”

“Seriously?”

I nodded. “Because of all the lovely things you said about me when you met with them.”

William blushed. He was cute when he blushed. “All true. What else did he say?”

“Not much, but it felt suspiciously like it would be an interview. They asked when I’d be receiving my MBA and admitted that they had stalked me on LinkedIn and were kind of impressed with what they found.”

“Because you’re very impressive.”

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