Page 108 of Love & Other Disasters

He shifted from one foot to another, his face painted in contrition.

“I’m sorry,” he began. “I was wrong to have the P.I. look into you. And I made a lot of assumptions about your wants and what would happen, and was wrong about so many things.”

She shrugged. “What does it matter now? You packed up and left.”

“I had to go take care of my mom. It doesn’t mean that I don’t love you. I made mistakes.”

“What happened to your mom?”

“They diagnosed her with early onset Alzheimer’s.”

“Oh no,” she took a step closer. “When?”

“I’d noticed memory issues in talking to her on the phone the last couple of years, but, I didn’t know how bad it’d gotten because I wasn’t there. Then things went dangerous fast, and I had to move. I tried splitting my time, but couldn’t make that work.”

“Jordan,” she whispered.

“Please don’t pity me,” his voice came out ragged. “I don’t think I can take it right now.”

Violet closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. He bent, encasing her in his arms, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

“It’s not pity,” she whispered, melting against him as though time or distance had never happened. “I love you too, but why are you here?”

“Because I’d never told you that I love you, and I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t try,” he whispered in her hair. “And damn it, I want you. I don’t want to live without you.”

“If we do this, we’re equal partners. And partners are there for each other. If I’m blindsided by things you’re dealing with, that’s not a partnership.” Tears streamed down her face.

“I know, Vi. My mom is losing herself, and it’s terrifying. And I don’t want to use that and manipulate you to come back to me. If you don’t love me and want to continue dating losers…”

A laugh escaped through Violet’s tears, and she sniffed. They looked at each other, and J.P. swiped a thumb at the tears on her cheek. Tears filled his eyes too, and the raw emotion there sent another stream down her face.

“In all seriousness,” he said, stepping out of her arms, but held her in those blue eyes. “I’m here to beg your forgiveness, and I want to be with you, but it’s your decision on the matter.”

“It’s not all your fault.”

“Yeah, it was. I was an asshole as you so helpfully pointed out.”

The laugh through her tears sounded like a sob. “I may have overreacted.”

“No, I was out of line.”

“You were being careful.”

“I was being stupid.”

“Your words, not mine.”

“Yeah, I’m owning them. I lost my head with you.”

“Me too,” she looked at the strange car in her driveway. “Where’s your car?”

He pointed to the sedan. “It’s a rental. I flew in.”

The realization hit that he wasn’t back living in Nashville. “You’re still in Chicago.”

“My mom’s house is in Glencoe a small town north of the city right on Lake Michigan. Her house needed repairs. I’ve been working on that, too.”

Violet guessed that his brother hadn’t helped in that way. “I’ve been in therapy,” she blurted out.

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