Page 66 of Lethal Seduction

I let go of him and he sits back in his wheelchair where we are at the same height, looking into each other’s eyes. "Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?"

"Forgive you?" he says, sounding shocked. "You didn’t do anything wrong."

I shake my head. "That’s where you’re wrong, Michael. The second that guy showed up at the restaurant, I immediately distrusted you… ready to throw what we had away, to protect my feelings. How immature is that? It’s the stupidest thing I could have done, and yet, here we are."

Michael remains silent for a few moments as he is probably mulling my words around in his head and heart. He finally shrugs and smiles. "I forgive you."

My heart races a mile a minute and I go to swivel my legs out to the side of the bed, but my vision begins to swim. That lump on the back of my head is clearly still an issue. Lying back against the bed, I start to laugh.

"What’s so funny?"

I can’t speak, I just laugh. Insanity must have taken over, tears rolling down my cheeks, I can’t catch my breath. My split with reality has infected Michael as he too starts to laugh. Through blurry, tear-filled eyes, I watch the man of my dreams release built-up stress and anxiety through a burst of laughter. It is a beautiful thing to witness.

Finally, the hilarity subsides and we both grow quiet. Our breathing begins to normalize, and I manage to sit up, letting my legs dangle over the side of the bed.

"Be careful," he says, reaching out to catch me if I fall.

I wave him away. "I’m fine now… promise."

He smiles at me, our eyes once again meeting.

"Michael?"

"Yes?"

"I would love for us to continue to see one another and I will make you a promise."

He smiles from ear to ear, his cheeks blushing the sexiest shade of pink I’ve ever seen. I could gobble him up and kiss him from head to toe. "I promise you I will no longer run away. If and when we come across a bump in our road together, I’ll talk to you about it and we will get over it together."

Michael grabs my hands in his. "I promise the same."

We lean toward each other and our lips meet. His soft, tender kiss gives me such intense pleasure, my body is instantly covered in goosebumps. Without disengaging our lips and tongues,which explore one another as if for the first time, he wraps his arms around me. Once again, I melt into his embrace.

28

MICHAEL

After getting home from the hospital the next day, I feel weak and emotional. I've never come that close to being killed in the line of duty, and with no one at home to talk to about it, I call my mom.

"Honey," she says as she answers the phone. "Is everything alright?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Mother's intuition. Now, spill it."

I clear my throat a few times before I start, trying to keep the emotion out of my voice. My mom is already on high alert, and I don't want to panic her. The last thing I want is for her to jump on a plane and arrive at my doorstep in the middle of the night.

"It's been a couple of bad days at work. Nothing to get too worked up about," I say. "Just felt like talking."

"Well, you've come to the right place. There's so much to tell you. Your cousin, Deborah, is getting married, and I have absolutely nothing to wear. And that's not the worst part. She's marrying a guy she met online. Can you believe that? Online? Who does that? Desperate people? She's gorgeous and kind.Why can't she meet a nice young man at church like the rest of us?"

I don't have the heart to remind her that most everyone in the world meets someone either at work or online these days. Personally, I've had to use the online and dating apps because the chance of meeting a nice, young, gay man who isn't under arrest would be a long shot—although I did somehow manage to find Patrick. And as far as church goes, Deborah is an atheist, and I haven't been to church since I came out of the closet. Not that I couldn't find one that accepted me, but it's too much effort at this point in my life.

My mom drones on about the upcoming wedding, dropping hints about how much she would love to see me walk down the aisle before she dies. How did she just transition the conversation from my cousin getting married to me making her grandchildren? I have no idea. But there's something to be said about my mom; she's a master at taking my mind off my own problems.

There's an unexpected break in the conversation. The last thing I remember her saying is that my father is getting too fat for his suit, and they'll need to go shopping before Deborah's wedding.

"Honey," she says. "Is there something bothering you?"

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