Page 46 of The Life We Left Behind

“I wish you would have told me about this sooner,” he said as he traced his finger through the condensation the bottle had left on the counter. “You didn’t have to live like this.”

I shrugged. He was right, and yet there was a part of me that felt like I deserved it.

“I heard Delaney is back in town,” he added, almost like he knew exactly what I was thinking about.

“Yeah. We’re buying the Barrett land for the new project.”

I took a swig of the now-warm beer and winced at the sour taste. It was far too early in the morning for a second one, and I had too much to do today to sit here getting drunk instead, no matter how much I wanted to.

“So, you’ve seen her?”

“Yep.”

“And you’ve talked to her?”

“Yep.”

“And? Shit, dude, I know we’re not girls, but you’ve got to give me more than that. How did it go?”

I stared at the friend I’d long considered a brother and tried to find the words to tell him how much it had meant to me. How it felt like the first time in years that I’d finally been able to breathe. How much I wanted it to mean that this was the beginning of something I’d been dreaming of for years.

Except, I couldn’t find them.

All I could find were the fears creeping in. What did it mean? Did Delaney feel the same way that I did? Had I walked out that door this morning giving her the opportunity she needed to second guess what was happening between us?

I’d told her that I wanted her. Right? I at least had to have told her that she was everything I’d wanted for my life. But now that my mind was running back over the night, all I could remember were the desperate touches and the feverish kisses. The way she clung to me. The look on her beautiful face as the orgasm rocked through her body, almost like a little piece of her broke off and stayed with me now.

When I finally looked up and Dex saw the look on my face, he swore again. “Shit. That well?”

“I have to go see Delaney,” I gasped, leaping from the stool and spinning on the spot like I was looking for something, even though I had no idea what it could be.

I couldn’t let her think that this was a one-night thing. I didn’t want to give her even a second to doubt me. Not again. Not ever again.

If it was the last thing I did, I’d prove to Delaney Barrett just how much I loved her.

“Then go!” Dex shouted. “What the fuck are you still doing here with me?” he laughed as he saw the desperation on my face. “It’s about time the two of you finally caught a break.”

I took off for my car, not even stopping to say goodbye to Dex, let alone close up the house. Dex would probably do it, anyway. Even if he didn’t, what was the worst that would happen? Chelsea would break in? It’s not like that would be anything out of the usual.

As I climbed into my car, I started to pat myself down, looking for the keys. I almost leaped a foot in the air when the knocking on the window came. Turning, I found Dex’s grinning face as he shook the keys at me. He pulled open the door and tossed the keys at me.

“I gotta say, it’s good seeing you like this, Trace. You haven’t looked this alive in years. I was starting to think we might have lost you.”

My mouth gaped open at his casual comment. Not because it wasn’t true but because I hadn’t realized that there were people around me who had realized it, too.

“Go!” He laughed again. “We can talk about it later, after you go and get your girl back.”

I didn’t even respond, opting instead to do exactly as he instructed as I sped out of the driveway at an inappropriate speed.

I let Delaney go once, and I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.

I should have remembered the drive more than I did, but it was just a series of turns taken far too quickly and an overwhelming need to see her again.

For a moment, I worried that I shouldn’t put all this on her when she’d just lost her dad. She was going through so much right now. But I wanted to be there to help her through it, inwhatever capacity she’d let me. If she wasn’t ready for anything right now, I’d respect that, but I’d be the friend she needed to get through this process. I’d make sure she knew without a shadow of a doubt that I’d be waiting for her at the end of it whenever she was ready to finally let me in. Ready to let me prove that I could finally be the man she deserved to have by her side.

As I pulled into the driveway for the Barrett farm, the nerves started to rise. What if she didn’t want me? What if she laughed in my face and turned me away?

But then I reminded myself about last night. How we’d come together, impossible to resist the pull of the other.

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