Page 115 of Coco and the Misfits

“A teenager, technically.”

“A kid. And it was an unfortunate prank. It’s not your fault.”

“It feels like it is. It will always hang over my head.”

“It’s not your fault.” I grab his wrist, drag his hand between mine. “You’re not a monster.”

He gives me a faint smile. “Candy girl… now you know it all. I had to tell you. Whether you forgive me or not is up to you.”

“I can’t forgive what you perceive as your fault. You have to forgive yourself first.”

“True. But I’m asking if you can forgive me for hurting you. I regret it every day, Candy girl.”

“And if I forgive you?”

“Then we can talk again.”

His scent wraps around me again but this time it’s like an embrace.

41

COCO

Can I trust his story? His apology? His talk of wanting to be with me?

Talk of souls. Soulmates. Mates.

My heart pounds at the thought. Ryder is like a storm, terrifying and beautiful. Has he really changed his ways? Could we be happy together?

After he’s gone, I sit back on the sofa and turn on the TV. I should put my groceries away, call June, or another friend to talk about this, but I let his story seep into my mind.

He seemed sincere. Distraught. The despair in his eyes had seemed genuine. He wouldn’t need such an elaborate tale to get back into my good graces, would he? If he only wanted more sex, he could have gone to anyone else. Why come back to me?

“You don’t need long to recognize a soul that fits perfectly against yours.”

I had felt it, too, before he’d shut me out. Before I had told myself to move on. A tug in my chest, a fire in my body. He’d made me believe it was one-sided. Imagined, perhaps.

But look how traumatized you are from being almost kidnapped. How cautious. How self-conscious and insecure. Imagine going through what he did. Wouldn’t it change you? Change how you feel about relationships? Make you scared to form attachments?

And should I believe anything has changed for him now? God, why is this so complicated?

It’s not, I tell myself. He hasn’t. People don’t change.

Not even if the trauma that changed them in the first place starts to heal, letting their real self shine through?

Too soon. Too hard to believe. He has told me his story. Now it’s up to me to sit back and make my decision.

In hindsight, Atticus’ appearance at my door the next day shouldn’t have come as a shock, but it did. Especially after Ryder’s confession. I had expected Zach, honestly, who’d started courting me. Shouldn’t he be the one trying to convince me to go out with him?

Atticus is a bear-like shadow by my apartment door, leaning against the wall, as I return from the Book Café. I talked with Sawyer and got him to investigate Ryder’s story.

Now I have a silver fox alpha waiting for me.

I’ve never seen him look this rumpled before. He’s always been immaculate, in his expensive suits and shoes. I’ve never seen Atticus Ford in jeans and a T-shirt. Probably expensive jeans, but all the same. Oh, and sneakers.

I don’t know if I’ll ever recover from seeing him so casual, although he’s as lethally handsome as ever. Even sexier, if that’s possible.

The lines on his forehead look deeper than I remember them.

---