Page 128 of Worth the Risk

His eyes, which were blazing with desire, quickly turn stormy. “Why the fuck did you have coffee with that asshole? And why am I only hearing this now?”

“I need you to hear me out.”

His lips thin, and he’s clearly not happy about it, but he gestures with a swirl of his finger for me to continue.

I recount everything about my talk with James last year and his addictions. Although he raises his brows at the information, he doesn’t say anything.

“That day, he told me he also wanted to talk about you, and I shut him down each time he persisted.”

“What the fuck did he want to say about me?”

“I didn’t know. Not at the time, but now I do. And, Leo, you’re not going to like this.”

Pulling me off his lap, he gets out of the tub, dries off, and stalks into his room. I can tell he is upset, and I get up too and follow him.

After yanking on a pair of shorts, he grabs a pair of boxers and a T-shirt and gives them to me.

Is he mad I had coffee with James?

“Get dressed. I’m not having this conversation with you about James while you’re naked and sliding all over my dick. That’s a mood killer.”

So that’s what’s bothering him?

Sliding on the boxers, I roll the waistband down a couple of times to hold them in place, then put on the T-shirt.

We head downstairs to the living room and sit beside each other on the sofa.

He faces me. “Go on.”

After bringing my knees up onto the sofa and folding my legs under my butt, I tell him everything from how James and Amber first met up until that awful night. Midway through, he leans forward, putting his elbows on his knees and linking his hands together. He stares at them as he clenches them together, taking in all I learned from James.

What I need to say next could send him over the edge. I remind myself to breathe before telling him how Amber drugged us, and with James’ help, I was carried to Nash’s bed.

“I knew it, Leo. I knew Nash and I never did anything that night, and now I know how I got to Nash’s room. It was the one piece I could never figure out or explain. Neither Nash nor I would have betrayed you in that way.”

“Son of a bitch.” Leo hastily jumps up from the sofa.

Storming to the patio doors, he punches the wall beside them, leaving a dent. After a moment, he throws open the patio doors and darts outside, pacing back and forth and running his fingers through his hair. I observe him until he finally slumps down in a lounge chair with his head in his hands.

Once I’ve given him time to work things out, I join him.

After a moment, he pulls me into him, wrapping his arms around my waist and placing his forehead on my stomach as he speaks. “I hate what she did to you.” He squeezes me tighter. I rake my fingers through his hair, giving him silent comfort, and we stay like this for a long time.

“When I came back into this house last week, so many memories and images came at me of us. There wasn’t a space where I couldn’t see or remember us. I forced myself to go into Nash’s room, where I only had one bad memory. At first, I saw the same image of the two of you that I saw for years, but as I looked deeper, I recall that not only were you both shocked but you were so confused and distraught. I couldn’t see that at the time because I had Amber’s words in my head. I was so angry thinking you and Nash had betrayed me, and you couldn’t tell me what happened. You were naked, him in his boxers. She planned it so perfectly, and like a fool, I believed it.”

He peers up at me with glistening eyes, and my heart aches.

“You will never know how sorry I am. I hurt two of the most important people in my life that morning and lost my daughter in the process. I don’t deserve you, but I’m too selfish to let you go.”

Placing my hands on either side of his face, I rub my thumbs along his cheekbones. He’s taking too much responsibility. Amber did this. Sure, he could have listened, but I let that go. I’m not so sure I would have acted much differently. At that time, we were both scared to take a risk due to our pasts and our triggers. We’re not those people anymore.

Kissing his soft lips, I try to show him how I forgive and love him.

I break away because there’s so much more to tell him. I sit between his legs, and he wraps his arms around my chest. He snuggles me into him.This right here is where we’re meant to be. With each other.

“There are two more things I need to say. Are you ready to hear them?” I ask tentatively.

He squeezes me to him. “No. But I need to hear it.”

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