Page 71 of Other Side Of Never
“Of course,” he murmured.“You’ve been locked in survival mode.I understand why you never wanted to date a single dad.”
I nodded and pressed my face into his neck.
What was left to say?We were doomed before we ever began.
He jiggled me gently in his arms.“You understand I’m not him?”
“You told me there are no guarantees,” I countered.
He snorted.“I guarantee I won’t punish you or Isaiah by taking him away from you.
“I guarantee I wouldn’t ask you to give yourself to me if I didn’t believe we could make it.
“I guarantee I wouldn’t put Isaiah in the position to lose someone else he loves without being sure of what I want.”
Twice I opened my mouth to speak, twice I closed it without making a sound as I blinked back tears.
Jakey.
He was so tiny when I met Gary whose very amicable divorce had recently finalized.The fact they remained friends solidified my belief that he was one of the good ones.
When he first began to show his true colors, I felt sorry for her.Then I realized they were equally terrible.How they produced a child as sweet as Jakey I’ll never know.
“Hey, hey, hey,” he whispered.“It’s okay.”
My fingers clutched his t-shirt so tightly they began to cramp.
“You’re okay.I’ll wait for you, Bridget.You’re okay.”
Forcing my hands to relax, I pressed my lips to the sliver of skin at his collar.“I don’t deserve you.”
His big chest rose and fell.“You deserve better.”He paused.“But tough luck.”
I laughed softly and drew back.Smiling up at him with a sweet, unfamiliar shyness, I admitted, “I think you’re wonderful, Kian.The best person I know.”
He flushed and shook his head before turning back to the counter.“Let’s eat breakfast and then we have to get on the road.”
It would be so easy to fall in love with him, if I wasn’t there already.Before I allowed this to go any further, I needed to tell him about The Incident.
Grateful for the reprieve, I asked, “Where are we going?”
“Finn and Lachlan are looking at buying an estate about an hour from here and restoring it.”
Making short work of breakfast and showering, we were on the road exactly thirty minutes later.With the windows down and the music blasting, we rumbled down one country side road after another, cutting through acres of fields and forest, the summer sun warming my face as the wind whipped the ends of my hair around my face.
I tipped my head back and breathed deep.
Beside me, Kian chuckled and squeezed my knee.
I smiled, eyes closed, sun warm on my face.
I’d always considered myself a city girl, but I couldn’t deny the appeal of space.
Maybe I was at a stage in my life where peace was the ultimate commodity, it had certainly been the theme for the past several months.
Maybe even years.
When Kian pointed out we were cresting the final hill leading up to the house, I saw exactly what I thought I would.Coldly austere, ostentatious, pretentious, and unwieldy, I hated it on sight.
