Page 53 of Whatever It Takes

My face softened, and I found myself running my fingers through her messy curls. “I’d love too. Go get it set up, I’ll be right behind you.”

“Yay.” She clapped excitedly and ran out of the room.

I rubbed the back of my neck while Charlotte scrubbed the dishes so hard, I thought they might crack.

“You know,” I said, “if you don’t want me to watch the movie with you guys, I can keep myself busy.”

She slapped the rag down into the sink. “It’s fine.”

I grabbed a bottle of beer out of the fridge, needing something to take the edge off. Every muscle in my body was wound tight. I set the bottle down on the table and braced my hands on the granite counter next to her. “I know you’re pissed, and this situation is fucked up, and I hate the fact that there is nothing I can say to make things right.”

I couldn’t go back and change the events that happened yesterday. All I wanted was to go back to the way things were before Grant fucking Anderson decided to show his face at the law firm. I didn’t want her to have doubts about us, and I sure as hell didn’t want to question where her head was at.

“You’re right. I am pissed. You were in a vulnerable position last night.” She turned to face me. “I’ll own up to my part. I said some things that I shouldn’t have said. Yesterday was a very emotional day. But Quinn,” her shoulders dropped and she squeezed her eyes shut, “you went and sought out the company of another woman. And not just any woman, but someone who you’ve been intimate with.”

“Nothing fucking happened.”

“You kissed her!”

“She texted me and told me she had some of my things. Here,” I pulled my phone out and shoved it at her, “read the text messages. I’ve got nothing to hide from you.” I plowed my hand through my hair wishing I could just apologize and be done with it. “She leaned in and kissed me. I stopped it. Do you honestly believe that I would fool around with her after everything that’s happened between us?”

“You hurt me.”

I lifted her chin, forcing her to look at me. “You hurt me too.”

I felt helpless and would have done anything to put an end to this shit. Beg, grovel, whatever it took. She had no reason to be jealous of another woman. As far as I was concerned, she was the only one that existed, at least in my world.

When she blinked up at me, I saw a sliver of remorse in her green eyes. “I’m sorry, but I need you to be patient with me. I’m worried about Emery and how this will all affect her.”

My arms dropped to her waist. “I understand that, but you can’t shut me out the second things get complicated. And speaking of Emery, I want to tell her about us. I’m sick of sneaking around and acting like I’m just your friend.”

“Quinn.” She shook her head. “No.”

“When?” I pressed. Anxiety started to grow in my gut.

“I don’t know. Let’s find Grant first and get my divorced finalized and then go from there.”

“That could take forever,” I whined like a fucking teenage girl. She couldn’t be serious. She was really going to erect another wall for me to climb?

She eyed me carefully. “You told me you would be patient.”

This was wrong on so many levels. There was so much to say and I was struggling. “I don’t understand. It’s not like I’m some new guy that you can’t trust enough to be around your daughter. You’ve known me for years. You were planning on marrying me,” I reminded her.

“That’s part of the problem. I was planning on spending the rest of my life with you and look how that turned out.” She might as well have taken a sledgehammer to my chest. “Emery practically lost her father. Clearly, she’s already getting attached to you. What if things don’t work out between us again?”

So that’s what she was afraid of? Me leaving her again?

I dragged her into my arms and pulled her against my chest. “I can’t undo the past, but we’ve been given a second chance. Let’s focus on that.”

Tears sprung from her eyes. We didn’t get here overnight. If I was going to convince her that I was willing to stick this out with her, I had one choice. Find a way to make it happen. I’ve wanted this woman for almost half of my life and there was no way I would fuck this up again.

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