Page 83 of Fight For Us
His eyes widened, but only for a moment before he blinked and nodded. “Shit… So, what does that mean?”
The whole story sat on the tip of my tongue waiting to spill out. The way he looked at me with such care had my chest cracking in two. I wrapped my arms around my chest and breathed deeply.
“It’s a long story, but let’s just say it wasn’t consensual.” His brows turned in. “My main reason for bringing this up is Alex’s project. It might come up and I don’t want you to be out of theloop. Alex doesn’t know anything. Thankfully he hasn’t asked much and… Yeah. It’s a mess.”
“Tiger, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” He rubbed a hand over his mouth and down his chin. “Did someone hurt you?”
Stay strong. Do not cry.
Inhaling deeply, I met his gaze. I’d only ever talked about that night to my therapist, other than bits and pieces when Mia asked years ago. I wasn’t ready to tell him everything. Not while we had such a good day planned, but I couldn’t leave him in the dark.
“Yes, but it was a long time ago, and I promise I’m doing okay. I won’t lie, it’s hard sometimes. Smells and sounds… Certain things will trigger a memory or even a subtle feeling. I get these lumps in my throat that won’t go away. But I promise I’m fine. I have Alex and he’s everything to me… no matter how I got him. But yeah… I don’t know who his biological father is. I don’t remember anything from that night and I’m grateful for that. If I knew his face it would be harder to pretend that I’m the only one who made Alex. That there’s no trace of that monster inside him.”
Wes opened his arms and I fell into them. “I’m so sorry, baby.” I buried my head in his chest, breathing him in and letting his comfort settle my racing heart. “If I could find him, I’d fucking kill him for touching you.”
A strangled laugh escaped my lips because I could actually picture that after seeing him go crazy at the bar. “I promise I’mfine. I guess I’m mostly worried about Alex. All these years, I’d never planned what I would tell him when that time came.”
He held me at arm’s length, searching my face. “Don’t tell him anything yet. As far as I’m concerned, I’m his father now and that’s all any school project needs to know.”
My throat clogged with emotion as I stared into his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Of course.” I brushed my lips against his, asking myself how I got so lucky.
“Thank you. You don’t know how much that means to me.”
“You mean the world to me,” he said. “You and Alex.”
I love you.
It sat on the tip of my tongue, dying to break free. I’d been thinking it for a while, if I were being honest with myself.But I wasn’t ready to say it. What if he didn’t feel the same? What if I was setting myself up for heartbreak?
After a few minutes, Lilly came bursting into the room, full of energy. “Olivia, are you almost ready to go?”
“Yup. Give me five more minutes.”
Wes squeezed me again and whispered in my ear, “I can do a lot with five minutes.”
“Keep it in your pants, buddy,” I whispered back, giving him a little smack on the arm.
“Who said anything about my pants? I was talking about yours.” He turned to grab his shoes with a devious smirk on his face.
“Not nice,” I said. Now I had to take his daughter shopping with the image of him in my pants rolling through the back of my mind.
“What?” he feigned innocence. “I’m always nice.”
“Right,” I said, squeezing his ass as I walked by. “Have fun with Alex. Take lots of pics of the houses for me.”
“We will. And hey, are you free tonight?”
I stopped at our door frame and smiled. “I don’t know. Let me check with all my other male suitors.”
He scrunched his brows and growled in the most feral way. I loved it.
“Consider all those male suitors erased from the earth, Tiger.” I shook my head, laughing. “Let me take you out tonight. I’ll get my mom to stay with the kids.”
Butterflies fluttered in my ribcage, but I pretended to think about a response, tapping my chin. He grabbed me and nuzzled into my neck, nibbling until I yelped. “Okay, okay… it’s a date. Where are you going to take me?”
“You’ll see. Now get that sexy ass out of here before I shut the door and take those five minutes and then some.”
