Page 89 of Everything We Left Unsaid

“Tell that to Mrs. Greyson. She told me you’re gonna be her son-in-law soon.”

His eyes snap up to meet mine and the anger returns. “What?”

“She said you and Maggie will get married one day.” He turns away from me and rakes his hands over his scalp. All it does is muss his perfectly-styled hair, making him even sexier.

“Abby, I need you to listen to me,” he begins, stepping up close and holding me by my arms. “I need you to understand something.” I nod my head, unable to speak in the presence of his intensity. “I am not, nor have I ever been, in love with Maggie Greyson. I do not plan to ever marry her. The only person I want to marry is you.”

I gasp, shocked by his confession. His eyes widen when he realizes he gave away his own surprise. I spring into action before he can take it back. My hands go to his face and I lift up on my toes, pulling him down to meet my kiss. He grasps my waist and pulls my body against his, growling against my lips. His kiss is hot and needy, desperate to explore every corner of my mouth.

“I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. You’re it for me.” My pulse hammers against my chest. God, I hope he means that. “Please don’t let anything like that come between us again. Just talk to me,” he pleads, pressing his forehead against mine.

“Okay,” I agree. We take a moment to catch our breath, just breathing each other in. Then I ask the question to which I dread the answer. “Is there anyone else I should know about?” He lets out a little groan and pulls me to the bed. He eases down onto it and I sit next to him.

“No, I don’t believe there’s anyone else you need to know about, but I’m going to be honest with you.” I’m not sure I want to hear what comes next, and I almost plead for him to forget I asked. “I haven’t been a saint these last two years. Especially after I came back from my internship and thought you tossed me aside like I never even mattered to you.” I wince and he reaches over and grabs my hand. “I partied a little too hard and tried to fuck you out of my memory.” My stomach churns and my heart aches. “It didn’t take me long to realize it wouldn’t work. I could never forget about you, no matter how hard I tried. It was always your face I saw.” He finally lifts his eyes to meet my gaze and I see my own pain reflected there. “Maggie was the first person I got serious with. We had always been friends. Our parents continually tried to push us together, so we finally gave in and gave a relationship a shot. We had fun, but that spark wasn’t there.”

“Did you guys sleep together?”

I know I shouldn’t ask. It’s not fair. And I know I won’t like the answer.

His jaw tenses, confirming my fears. “Yeah, Abby. We slept together.” He shakes his head and rises from the mattress. “Do you need to know everybody I slept with?” he grits out. “Because I sure as shit don’t want to know everybody you slept with while we were apart.”

“There’s only been one,” I confess on a whisper.

“What?” he asks disbelievingly.

“Gavin,” I offer. “He’s the only person I’ve slept with.”

“How?” He’s obviously stunned by my revelation.

“Well,” I begin, wishing I hadn’t started this, not wanting to relive that time in my life, “for the first nine months we were apart, I was pregnant and heartbroken and even though I hated you, I couldn’t bring myself to sleep with someone else while carrying your child.” I glance up at him and his pained expression nearly destroys me. He runs both hands down his face before smoothing them over his scalp and lacing his fingers behind his head. “It took a few more months to recover from giving birth, so there I was, a year after you left and still not ready to give myself to someone else. I dated a few guys, messed around with a couple of them, but could never bring myself to sleep with them.” He leans his head back and swallows hard, his throat bobbing up and down.

“When I met Gavin, I was finally ready. He was sweet and charming, and we hit it off. It took several months for our relationship to progress that far, but-”

“Did you love him?” he demands, cutting me off, and I shake my head. I cared for Gavin, but I was never in love with him. “Say it,” he commands, stepping up to me. I tilt my head back to meet his gaze. “I need to hear you say you never loved him. Please,” he begs.

“I never loved him,” I declare. “I’ve only ever loved you.” His lips crash against mine and his hands tangle in my hair.

“Say it again,” he pleads against my lips.

“I’ve only ever loved you.” He growls, deep and low, a predatory sound. Nudging my legs apart with his knee, he urges me back. “Wait!” I screech. “Chloe.” He looks back over his shoulder and I lean to the side to see around him. She’s still sitting on the rug next to her crib, surrounded by toys and paying us no mind.

“Later,” he promises, his voice gruff with need as he backs away from me. “The party is almost over. I need to make an appearance. Come with me?” He reaches out a hand for me to take.

“What about Chloe? I already sent Nell away.”

“We’ll take her with us. Let her show off her pretty little dress.” He gives me a crooked smile and just like that, we’re back to being us.

We rejoin the party with Chloe in tow. Jacob makes sure to introduce us properly: as his girlfriend and daughter. Some of them shoot us questioning looks, wanting the scoop on how they’re just now finding out about us, but we ignore them and pretend not to notice. Neither of us is ready to field those questions. The Greysons are nowhere to be found, and I’m beyond relieved that I don’t have to face them again. Logan finds us and introduces himself by wrapping me in a bear hug and lifting me off the ground. I throw my head back and laugh. These two are definitely more like their father. Thank God.

“Put my woman down before I kick your ass,” Jacob warns playfully.

“I’d like to see you try,” Logan retorts. Then they start shoving each other jokingly the way guys do right before they either hug or start throwing punches.

“Boys,” Arthur scolds, walking up to us. “No fighting, you two. Your mother will kill us all,” he warns.

“Ah, Dad, you know her bark is worse than her bite,” Logan chuckles.

“Yeah, I know.”

I’mnot so sure about that.

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