Page 90 of I Could Be Yours

My stomach rolls as she turns back to Connor.

“Three million, and you never contact them again,” he says.

“Never again,” she agrees.

“You are a disgusting excuse for a human being.” I thread my arm through Nate’s. “I hope this decision haunts you for the rest of your miserable life.”

“I’ve got this from here,” Connor says, rage still simmering below the surface. This is the man who gets in fights on the ice, the one who doesn’t mind being the villain.

Nate pales, like the truth of this is hitting him. “I can’t pay you back, and I don’t want Tristan to kn?—”

“Consider it my wedding gift to Tristan and you and Brody.” Connor motions for Nate’s mother to follow him before he turns to me and murmurs, “Take care of him.”

I nod. “I will, thank you.”

Nate’s mom glances over her shoulder once, but he isn’t looking at her, he’s looking at me, and he’s utterly ruined.

I cup his cheek in my palm, wishing I could absorb the agony of it all. “She doesn’t deserve any part of your heart.”

CHAPTER 27

ESSIE

Nate is clearly in a state of shock as I guide him away from Connor and his mother.

“Where do you want to go right now?” I don’t want to make assumptions, especially with how fragile he must be, but Brody is rooming with him. I worry about what could happen if Nate shows up there, looking destroyed.

“Back to your room.” His voice is thready with anguish. “Unless you don’t want me there. I’ll understand if you don’t.”

I stop and turn to face him. “I’m here for you, however you need me to be, Nate, okay?”

He nods once, eyes sad and watery.

When we reach my room, I pass my wrist in front of the sensor and usher him inside.

His broad shoulders cave in as he crosses the threshold. His head drops and he runs his fingers through his hair, gripping tightly.

I flip the safety latch and move to stand in front of him, settling a palm on his chest. “I’m so sorry, Nate.”

“Everything was going so good, and she had to ruin it,” he whispers. “I fucking hate what she did to our family. She broke us all.”

“I wish I could take away the hurt,” I admit. “What can I do to help? What do you need?”

“You.” He closes his eyes, covers my hand, and steps closer. When his gaze lifts to mine, longing and apology are reflected back at me. “I want to forget she was ever here. I need out of my head.”

I wish I could get him to open up, to talk to me, let me in, but this is a deep, raw wound. Pushing could break him, so I move closer, sliding my hand up his chest to the back of his neck. “Show me how I can help you with that.”

He lowers his head, and his soft, needy groan hums across my lips as he slants his mouth over mine. His hand tangles in my hair and the other winds around me, pulling me tight against him. He deepens the kiss, despair shifting to hunger. I want to siphon out his pain, kiss it all away, help him forget.

Eventually he stops to breathe, thumb brushing the edge of my jaw. “I need you, Ess. I’m sorry.” He drops his forehead to mine. “I just need to feel you.”

“It’s okay. I’m here.” I hold his face in my hands. “Let me make it disappear.”

“Please.”

I rid him of his shirt, and he peels me out of my dress, pushing my panties over my hips. I undress him the rest of the way, struggling to stay focused as his fingers whisper over my skin. When we’re both naked, Nate leads me to the bed, pulls the sheets back, and lifts me onto the mattress before he stretches out beside me.

The walls between us are crumbling, and I see so clearly the man before me. His shattered heart is in my hands, and I desperately want to mend the broken parts of him.

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