Page 117 of Ramsey & Emerson

“That doesn’t help me with the guilt that I’m feeling now, Ramsey,” she said, never scared of being honest about how she felt.

“Is that why you’re here? For me to make you feel better?”

Her chin went up, and Emerson really was fucking sensational when her temper came out. Those silver eyes of her swam like liquid mercury whenever her pride was pricked, and that was something that still fascinated me about my wife. Before her, I’d never met a person that could have the pride of a hundred kings but also have none at all. Emerson wasn’t embarrassed to tell people that she grew up in a trailer park, but she also didn’t let them look down their nose at her because of it, either. Simply put, Emerson Reed was mag-fucking-nificent.

Actually, that wasn’t true.

EmersonAndrewswas magnificent. After all, underneath how she signed her name, she was still the girl that had challenged me on that immaculate lawn twenty-six years ago, and instead of waiting for us to graduate, I should have married her the next fucking morning. I should have dragged her by her hair to the courthouse the very next day, giving me more time as my wife.

“I’m here to apologize,” she said, her voice a bit colder than it’d been a second ago. “I’m here because I’m not a coward, Reed.”

“You’re here to apologize, yet you’re calling me Reed,” I pointed out.

“Because you’re an asshole,” she fired back.

While that was true, Emerson wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine herself.

Chapter 28

Emerson~

Ramsey really was a dick most of the time, so I shouldn’t be surprised by any of this. In fact, his attitude towards life was one of the reasons that we made such a formidable couple. Though there was no danger of it ever happening, Ramsey always made sure that I never became a victim of the hard times. While I was allowed to have my moments, self-pity wasn’t something that we did in our household.

“Baby, I need you to remember who you’re mad at, because it’s not me,” he stated evenly, though his dark gaze was watching me intently. “At least, it’s not me right now.”

I let out a steady breath, reining in my temper, because he was right. While I was still upset with him for all the bullshit that he’d caused with this situation, it wasn’t him that I was mad at right now. I was mad at myself for how I’d been played for a fool, and I was angry about Adrian in general. Nothing was worse than a monster that preyed on children, and it wasn’t enough for me that they’d all burn in Hell eventually. I wanted them to pay for their sins now, not when there’d be no tangible satisfaction for their victims. Karma was all good and well when you chose to take the high road, but I wasn’t a fan of the high road; I wasn’t that gracious.

“Look, I just came to apologize,” I repeated. “You can accept it or not, but I’m done here.”

I turned to leave, but then I immediately felt Ramsey’s hand wrapped around my arm, pulling me back. That was also something else that I should have been expecting. Ramsey hated whenever I tried to walk away from him during an argument, but in all fairness, we weren’t in the privacy of our own home, so it’d probably be best if I left.

“The fuck you are,” he bit out as he swung me around to face him. “We are done fighting about this shit, Emerson.”

“That’s what the apology was for,” I snapped back.

Ramsey pulled at me until we were pressed up against each other. “An apology that I don’t need?” he practically sneered. “You have nothing to be sorry for, so your apology is pretty pointless, don’t you think?”

“Ramsey-”

His hands immediately cupped my face. “Baby, I don’t need apologies from you,” he repeated. “I need you to be happy. That’s what I need from you.” His eyes were burning with enough love to make me feel it everywhere. “When you’re unhappy, every breath that you take pierces my heart and destroys my soul, Emerson. I live for you, and even as unhealthy as that is, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I could feel that familiar stinging behind my eyes, and I knew that I needed to stop feeling guilty for how much Ramsey loved me. “So, I need you to stop this shit. I need you to forget Cossacks, forget that bullshit about me being unhappy, and whatever else you’ve managed to drum up in that beautiful head of yours.”

I let out a heavy sigh as I looked up into those chocolate-colored eyes of his. “I just want us tobothbe happy, Ramsey.”

Before he could say anything to that, the door to his office opened, and as soon as we saw who was walking in, we put everything on hold.

“Mamam Emmy!”

Ramsey stepped back just in time for me to drop down to catch Lake in my arms. With her wrapped up safely in one arm, my other one automatically reached out to pull Aaron in with us, and as I hugged these two angels, I could hear the regret in Deke’s voice.

“Sorry, man. I didn’t know that Emerson was here.”

“It’s okay,” Ramsey replied easily.

As I pulled back to look at the kids, Lake was grinning at me while Aaron was looking way too serious for his tender age. “Aaron got me new snacks.”

“Well, that was nice of him,” I cooed. “And do you like your new snacks?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

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