Page 113 of Broken Bridges

Don’t walk away from me,

My heart cannot bear...

To lose you.

I can’t breathe without you.

Can’t sleep without you.

I want you for the rest of my life,

Can’t you let go and just be mine?

We’ll travel every road together,

Fight every battle and face the weather.

Spend every day right here.

Baby, can’t you see

Can’t you see.

We were meant to be.

“Hey?” Cole’s voice made me jump.

Fuck.

I sucked in a deep breath and spun around on the stool. My pulse throbbed inside my temples. As he stood in the doorway, I searched his face, trying to read his mood, but every feature was set in stone—except his fiery eyes. Shit.

“What the fuck?” He strode into the room. “You went to Santa Barbara.”

Damn cell phone tracking. “Yes. I needed some time out.”

Six feet away, he paced in front of the desk. “Tia told me everything,” he hissed.

I grimaced. “What exactly is everything?” That we fucked up? That I was a total mess? That we shouldn’t have lied? None of that was new to me.

He stabbed his finger toward my face. “I trusted you with her. You abused that. I’m so fucking pissed at you right now.”

“Ya think?” I snapped, thick with sarcasm. “I didn’t plan this.”

“Were you just fucking her for fun? Sneaking around behind my back for some cheap thrill?”

I clenched my fists, my jaw, my muscles. How dare he? “No. Don’t be a dick about this. I wasn’t just fucking her. She’s gotten inside my head from the moment we met. I questioned my sanity on more than one occasion. We fought our attraction for months, but we couldn’t deny being into each other.” My heart shuddered against my ribs. “Being with her changed everything about who I am. Do you think taking that step was easy for me? To be with a woman?”

“Lewis.” Cole slapped his chest. “I, of all people, understand what it’s like to be curious and question sexuality.”

“I never had until I met her.” I lowered my chin. “I know you get this. Tia told me about Aidan.”

His shoulders slumped; anguish took hold of his tone. “She told me she called it off. Is that right? Or was she your experiment?”

I stared out the window; my vision blurred. Tia had been a whirlwind of unexplainable forces. She’d lifted me up, swept me away, knocked me down, but I’d never regret being with her. “Isn’t the start of any relationship an experiment? To explore and question your feelings for each other? Ours were real. But it got complicated and hard, and shit got in the way.”

“She won’t admit it, but she fucking loves you.”

“I was deluded to think she did. But she’s just fucked up and can’t let go of the past. We were good together, man. But she got scared. Scared of you, of hurting the band, and of change, and most of all loving someone again. That destroyed us.” I met his hard gaze with steely grit. “I’m not sorry for falling for your sister, but I understand the consequences. You don’t have to sweet-talk around the issue.”

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