Page 134 of Sharing Shane

Oh my God, Veronica mouthed to the wall, and mentally sent Beth the finger.

“She got angry when I asked her to leave,” he said, and the bone-deep weariness in his voice tugged at her heart. “Started shouting, throwing things. Wyatt went for a walk so we could talk it out, and that’s when she asked me when I was going to grow up. That’s how she put it—grow up and get rid of my boyfriend and the silly, immature need to have my cake and eat it too. She wanted to get married and have babies, she said, and she couldn’t do that with me if I was going to insist on playing house with Wyatt.”

Veronica’s stomach dropped, a feeling of dread coming over her.

“She never even asked me if I wanted kids.”

Do you? she asked silently, her palm pressed to the wall while she waited for him to answer the unspoken question.

“I do want them,” he said quietly, and Veronica’s sigh of relief almost drowned out his next words. “But I want Wyatt, too. She said that was ridiculous, and she gave me an ultimatum, right there in our little rented cabin. Her or Wyatt.”

I hate this bitch, Veronica thought.

“Since she’s not here and Wyatt is, you can probably guess which way I went,” he said with a sad little laugh that broke her heart all over again. “And it wasn’t a hard choice to make. When she gave me that ultimatum, I knew she didn’t love me. It was for the best, but it still hurt.”

He drew in a deep breath. “Anyway. That’s why I blew up today. When you showed up with dinner I just...reacted, without stopping to think. I was an asshole, and I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me for jumping to conclusions.”

Veronica had to blink back tears as she pushed to her feet. She started to step out into the hallway when his next words froze her in her tracks.

“The thing is, I love you so much more than I ever thought I loved Beth. And I want it all.”

What? she silently implored. What do you want? Tell me.

“I want to love you, and have babies with you. I want to love Wyatt, and make him babysit.”

Veronica clapped her hands over her mouth to hold back the laugh, and barely noticed the tears streaming down her face.

“I want Wyatt to be the best man at our wedding, if we decide to do that someday. But even if you don’t want babies, and you don’t want to get married, I still want to be with you. For as long I can, I just want to love you.”

Veronica could barely see through the tears, both hands over her mouth to hold in the sobs. She stepped around the corner to see Shane rising to his feet, the look of defeat and sadness on his face making her cry harder, then he lifted his head and saw her.

“Veronica?” He glanced back at her door, then at her. “You’re not in there.”

She shook her head, swiping at tears. “No, I’m not.”

“You heard that?” he whispered, cautious hope lighting his face.

She nodded, coming to a stop in front of him. “I think all my neighbors heard it, too.”

He winced. “Sorry. I didn’t think about that.”

“Don’t you dare be sorry,” she said on a fierce sob. “That was the best thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

“Does that mean you forgive me for being a dick?” he asked cautiously.

“Yes,” she assured him with a watery laugh. “But if you do it again, I reserve the right to kick your ass.”

“Fair enough,” he said, a cautious smile making his beard twitch in that way that she loved so much.

“I’ve been going to a support group,” she blurted out.

He blinked. “What?”

“A support group,” she repeated. “It’s called More to Love, it’s for polyamorous and non-monogamous people.”

“Since when?”

“Pretty much since we got back from Bermuda. I’ve been reading too, blogs and books, and listening to podcasts on polyamory.”

---