Page 41 of Mercy Lake

ALEXIS

I knew Owen still had feelings for me. He had said as much after we had our big talk. However, Cooper’s confessions from his gossiping father had me reeling.

Over the past couple of months, I had been enjoying my time with Owen. We were getting to know each other again as the people we had grown into. Before he had become my lover and husband, he had always been my best friend, and I forgot how much I missed that, missed him.

After everything was said between us, I had a lot of conflicted feelings to work through. I had so many lingering doubts, our past constantly playing in my mind.

If I had stayed and talked to Owen back then, would it have made a difference?I honestly didn’t know. But there was one concrete factor I could never bring myself to regret.

Austin Thorne.

In the end, I took Owen’s advice and refused to obsess over the what ifs. Instead, I chose to focus on the present, which had led me right back to the place it all started—Mercy Lake.

Owen and I innately gravitated towards each other like we always had. That easy magnetism remained, pulsing and thriving between us.

It was like all the attributes I adored in him before were elevated to a higher, more potent level. He was passionate in his job, caring and attentive to Austin, an amazing uncle to Cooper and he had become even sexier than I could ever remember.

Before we hashed everything out, I didn’t want to admit it to myself—that the connection was still there. His attractiveness hadn’t diminished since I’d left. If anything, he was more handsome and steadily becomingirresistible.

Sometimes, I would unintentionally catch my gaze lingering—on his face, down his body, on his lips.

But that had nothing on his mind. Owen had matured and grown into a man I respected. He didn’t sugarcoat anything and told me the truth, despite knowing how much it could hurt me.

The biggest change, though, was his open nature. He communicated well and, most importantly,listened.He was a lot more contemplative and severely honest, but in a way that I didn’t feel bulldozed.

Those new attributes were refreshing, our newfound dynamic pleasant—something I never would have expected.

I truly thought those events had changed him. And even though I hated to admit it, even to myself, he had transformed those heartbreaking circumstances and had worked onbecoming a better version of himself. Which took immense strength and resilience.

Giving in, I ditched the playground and dropped down onto the picnic rug next to Owen, who was puffing after chasing the troublesome boys.

Once he calmed, I could already tell he was gearing up to explain what Cooper had revealed. And in doing so, he shocked the shit out of me.

“Alexis. Although I’m pissed Liam opened his big mouth to Junior over there… I also can’t blame him. Because everything he said was true. Iamobsessed with you. Iamsad and old. But most importantly, Iamstill in love with you. Never stopped.”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out except air. There was no way I could deny that a certain heat spread through me at his declaration, like my body was switching back online as my heart picked up pace. Suddenly, I was thrust back to the first time we ever locked eyes as teenagers in our high school corridor. He was magnificent then, and still was… The way he was looking at me.

I gave myself a minute to process what he said; I didn’t want to reply without thought. He was being so genuine that I wanted to give him that in return.

“I’m not the same girl you used to know, Owen. I’m a mother now. Austin comes first. He willalwaysbe my top priority.”He surprised me by giving a huge grin instead of the disappointment I was expecting. “What?”

“You wouldn’t be a woman worth loving if he wasn’t your number one, Lex.” I blushed, but he kept on going. “I always knew you’d be an amazing mother. If anything, it’s made me fall in love with you more.”

He said those things without hesitation, blatant with his wants and feelings. But I was scared. Afraid he saw me as some type ofsaviour, that he had put me on a pedestal and associated me with the person I used to be. I told him as much.

“Yes and no,” he replied. “When you left, I wasn’t in a good place. I became really unwell, mentally. Eventually, I began therapy, and that helped a lot. It took me a long time, but I finally got to a place where I was an individual outside of loving you. It gave me a new sense of identity. I never stopped wanting you… But I can survive without you, if that makes sense.”

“It does. And I’m happy you found that.”

I spared him a shy smile, and then my eyes caught on his. I hadn’t realised how close we were, our meaningful conversation bringing us together like a pair of magnets. Our shoulders were aligned side by side, with his face so near I could feel his breath against my skin.

Heat raised from the close proximity, and as my gaze hooked on his mouth, I bit into my lip to prevent from biting into his.

Owen held no reservation, raising his thumb to free my lip. My short, shallow breaths puffed against his palm—which he didn’t miss.

He advanced in slow motion, giving me ample opportunity to pull away. I didn’t want to. As he angled his neck toward me, my lashes fluttered closed against my cheeks, waiting for that supple caress I hadn’t experienced in so long. That I hadn’t wantedin so long.

Yet, now I was desperate, as if a raging inferno had been ignited after years of lying dormant.

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