Page 6 of Forsaking All Others

I wanted so badly to make him happy.

He sobers some and I sigh.

“I’m not trying to erase our history, Maverick,” I tell him.

Sure, I wouldn’t mind erasing the pain we gave each other, but there were good times too. Like the long rides on the back of his bike and the days we spent holed up in his room at the clubhouse, loving on one another until our bodies ached. The day he asked me to marry him and the day I took his name. The birth of our babies and the precious days that followed as I watched him fall in love with Tara and Shepard over and over again. There’s nothing more spectacular than witnessing the man you love shower his love on the babies you gave him— unless of course that man is a badass biker who lives life in the fast lane—then it’s even more spectacular because all that hard he gives the rest of the world softens and you’re the only one who gets to see that. It’s fascinating—so fucking fascinating.

Swallowing, I continue.

“We’re family and I still have love for you.”

“Yeah,” he says with a jerk of the chin. Lowering his eyes, he rasps, “Got love for you too, baby.”

I step forward, closing the distance between us and without giving myself a chance to question my actions, I wrap my arms around him. That’s always been something I’ve struggled with since Maverick and I divorced, questioning the things that feel so natural…like hugging him or reaching for his hand. Both are platonic gestures we do all the time. I mean, I kiss my friends hello and I hug them goodbye. If they’re feeling down, I’m always there to lend an ear, but with Maverick it’s different. It’s not because he’s my ex-husband, it’s because every touch, no matter how platonic the intention, feels intimate.

His arms wrap around my waist, strong and tight.

Familiar and foreign.

That hard fades to soft.

Safe.

All Maverick.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

“I know.”

A sigh escapes him, and he pulls back, lifting his hands to wipe away my tears.

“Now quit crying, I’ve made you do enough of that.”

Yeah, I suppose he has.

“That little fucker will be here any minute and we need to play it off like we’re a bunch of badasses that will maim him if he breaks our girl’s heart.”

Chuckling, I raise an eyebrow.

“A hard feat for you, huh?”

He winks at me and that old familiar song plays in my head.

The flame flickers.

Trust the distance the stars say.

We’ll meet again.

In another lifetime.

Chapter Three

Maverick Burnside

Grippingthe edge of the granite countertop, my eyes follow Holly as she saunters out of the kitchen to check on Theo. Once she’s out of sight, I drag in a ragged breath and lower my head.

“Fucking hell,” I growl.

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