Page 174 of Ever With Me

When the lake came into view more clearly, she stopped short.

A picnic was set up on a small field in front of it, complete with candles and flowers. Lots of them.

And standing in the middle of it all . . . was Brooks.

48

BROOKS

Maddie stopped walkingat the edge of the woods, her face frozen with shock.

God, she’s so beautiful.

So beautiful that he couldn’t breathe for several seconds, his chest tight.

How did I ever walk away from her?

Maddie checked back over her shoulder in the direction she’d come from and didn’t come any farther. “What are you doing here?”

“I saw an interesting news segment yesterday. Tried to call Cormac, but he didn’t answer. So I got Naomi’s number from Kayla.” He looped his thumbs into his jean pockets and took a few steps forward. “She told me everything.”

Maddie crossed her arms. “She shouldn’t have. I swore her to secrecy.”

She isn’t happy to see you.

“There may have been some begging involved. Of the variety where I literally said, I’m begging you.” Brooks’s shoulders sagged, a hopeless feeling settling in him.

She’s never going to forgive you.

“For the record, she made it clear she doesn’t think I deserve you. And she’s right. But . . . I had to try.”

“Try what?” Maddie came closer, her eyes guarded. “To surprise me with a picnic in some random woods and say you’re sorry?” She stopped an arm’s length away, close enough to touch but far enough that he felt the distance between them.

“Actually, it’s not just random. It’s forty acres of secluded property . . . that I just bought from Jason Cavanaugh.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“It’ll take a while before I can put a house on it. There are permits and then building the thing. I thought about just buying the lake house at first, but I didn’t want anything that had memories for us—good or bad. You know, a fresh start.”

Brooks came closer, longing to touch her. “I have ached for you with my every breath, Madison. Leaving you was unforgivable, and I’m still terrified. I know I can’t protect you perfectly, and that scares me down to my core. But living without you scares me more. So I’m begging you, please forgive me. I want to be with you and only you, Maddie. Forever. You’re branded in my soul.”

Her eyes shone with tears. “I just—” She swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut. “And you think it’s possible for us to be together now?”

“Naomi told me about the case you were mounting against Mike . . . so I called my lawyer’s friend at the FBI, who filled me in on the rest. He just sent me a message and let me know Mike’s been arrested. Anything Mike had on us will be destroyed.”

That, by itself, was a victory they should celebrate, but she didn’t appear happy about it. Or relieved. She just nodded, blinking a few tears away.

“I know that’s your win, Maddie. You did it. I can’t promise there won’t be other threats, but that one, at least, won’t be hanging over us anymore. And that’s a huge deal to me.”

Somehow, nothing he said seemed right. Or good enough.

Will she ever forgive me?

After another moment, she looked at him more directly. “You hurt me in a way I didn’t know I could hurt, Brooks. I’ve had my heart broken before, but never like that. Never. When you walked away, it felt like the world went dark. And then your silence . . . that hurt me the most of all.”

“I wanted you to be safe. I didn’t want Mike—or anyone—thinking you were a weakness in me to exploit. To hurt you.”

“I know why you did what you did.” She clasped her hands together. “I understood it, and you made that much clear. But what I didn’t understand—what I still can’t understand—is why you thought you needed to keep sacrificing everything. Why youinsistedon doing it all alone. You had me, Brooks. Youhad me.And you still did it all alone.”

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