Page 67 of My Ex-Best Men
I blinked away tears and looked out the window again. I wasn’t sure what to say. My heart was racing. They were saying everything I wanted to hear but I was still scared. They’d walked away from me before. How was I supposed to believe they wouldn’t again? How could I trust their maturity and loyalty after something like this?
It was like Will could read my mind. “I’m sorry, Claire. I’m horrified that I allowed Madeline to hurt you. I’m horrified thatIhurt you. I’m not walking away, though. I let you go once before and I lost a decade of time with you. I’m not asshole enough to think I deserve you but I’m fucking taking you anyway. I’m not losing you again.”
A thrill went down my spine at the way his face shifted through his speech. By the end it was a mask of furious determination. Gone was the kicked puppy.
Zane reached over and gripped my chin to turn my face to his. “Will’s right. None of us are walking away. This is not the life I expected, I’ll say that much, but it’s the life I’m demanding now. It’s the four of us against the world, or whatever. So…be mad but eventually you’re going to have to forgive us for being stupid and accept that you belong with us.”
I sighed and rubbed my temples. I was so tired and, more than that, I was worn out. It’d been just over a week since I leftLondon the first time and I felt like I’d lived a lifetime in that week. So much had changed, even down to the things I wanted in my career. Spending the last sixteen hours or so mourning my heart hadn’t helped.
“There’s a bedroom in the back of the plane. Why don’t you go lay down?” Anthony sighed and stood up. “We’ve got the rest of our lives for you to forgive us. A nap won’t kill us.”
I looked over my shoulder towards the door that was apparently hiding a bedroom. A nap sounded like exactly what I needed. I looked back at the three of them and blew out a deep breath. “Just a small nap…”
“Go on. We’ll be out here if you need us.”
I stood on shaky legs and edged past Anthony. Looking at them for a few more seconds, I wondered if I wasn’t making a mistake in not immediately forgiving them. Because I already knew I was going to. I just needed a nap first.
58
***Claire***
“Come on, sweetheart. Time to buckle in again.” Will’s voice was soft as he spoke next to my ear while picking me up. “We’re almost home, baby.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my face into his neck. I wasn’t ready to wake up. I’d forgiven them in my sleep and things had been great again. I wasn’t sure I was ready for it while I was awake. One strange thought kept bouncing around my head, though. “She told you her grandma died?”
Will stopped and snorted. “No, but she had Jordan imply it. And then she was crying about someone dying. When I finally asked her about it, she admitted it was her aunt’s cat who’d died.”
I let out a strangled laugh. “No.”
“Yeah.” He sighed a bone deep sigh. “I’m sorry, Claire. I love you. Then, now, and forever. You’re the only person I want to hold.”
I wasn’t ready to say anything but I tightened my arms around his neck and pressed my cheek into his neck again. It seemed good enough for him because he kissed the side of my head and let out a grunt before moving to the seats.
He loved me. They all loved me. I was in love with them. They’d flown over an ocean to get me. My heart pummeled my chest and my breathing hitched. It was exactly what I’d wanted from all of them the first time around. I’d stayed awake for what felt like days waiting for them to show up and sweep me off my feet and tell me they loved me a decade earlier. They were giving me exactly what I’d wanted and needed. There was something inside me still holding back, though.
Will put me down and buckled me in before taking the seat next to me. “When we get back to the island, I have to find Madeline and set this straight. I’d like you to come with me.”
That woke me right up. “Why?”
“I need you to know for sure that nothing happened with her. I need you to hear me end the friendship. So you know that I’m serious about this, Claire.”
I wanted to tell him that he didn’t need to end the friendship but I wasn’t stupid, or a saint. I wasn’t great at forgiveness and no part of me believed that Madeline deserved it. So instead of pretending like I was a better person than I was, I just nodded. I wanted to see him end the friendship. I wanted to see Madeline suffer the way she’d made me suffer.
“We’ll all go. It wasn’t just you that she hurt, Will.” Anthony sat across from me with a hard look on his face.
I tilted my head as I studied him. “I thought you had a meeting you couldn’t miss.”
A small smirk lifted one side of his mouth and it made him look devilishly handsome. “So I lied. I just wanted to get you back on our home turf. This way it’ll be harder for you to get away from us.”
I gaped at him. “Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
“You lied.”
“Yep.”
I sighed. “You’re not even sorry.”
