Page 62 of What Comes After

His hand slid back, his fingertips threading into my hair, most of his palm covering my ear. “You’re a goddamn treasure, and I’m sorry he wasn’t man enough to make you believe it,” Theo croaked.

Theo believed I was a treasure.

I loved the thought, but also hated it.

Because as far as I knew, people held on to treasure. Hell, they fought battles over it.

Recognizing that, I had to wonder… exactly what kind of treasure did Theo think I was, and when would he walk away from me again?

FOURTEEN

Theo

Fixing my mistakes.

Having done what I’d done in my life, I wasn’t sure I deserved redemption, but there was a selfish part of me that couldn’t stand by, doing nothing.

It had been just over a week since I’d learned the truth about what had happened to Devyn. Only a matter of days since she’d shared precisely why she’d been knocking on death’s door.

I still hadn’t wrapped my head around it.

I still hadn’t accepted that she’d sacrificed herself the way she did.

Hearing those words that day, knowing she’d put herself in harm’s way to attempt to protect a man who didn’t do even the very least to deserve it, was nearly impossible to stomach. He was being attacked because he’d cheated on Devyn with women who were already spoken for, and Devyn had still stepped in to try to save him. To protect him.

How her ex could have been lucky enough to have her like he did in his life and hadn’t done everything to cherish her was baffling.

Then again, I wondered if I really had any room to talk.

I’d had the opportunity so many years ago to make sure she knew how I felt about her, to tell her just how deep my feelings ran for her, and I didn’t take it.

But I was done hiding it.

I’d lived for far too many years without her in my life the way I had wanted, and I couldn’t do it any longer.

That’s how I was planning to fix my mistakes. I only hoped I’d be successful in my efforts.

The most challenging part of it all was going to be timing. In a perfect world, I’d be able to come right out with it, and Devyn and I could go on to live happily ever after.

But this world was far from perfect.

She’d been beaten to within an inch of her life after having just learned moments before that she’d been betrayed by her boyfriend, who’d subsequently died. To top it off, she was now living in my house while she took the time she needed to recover.

If all that hadn’t been enough, I then had to take her down to the police station that day I’d learned all the details. I waited there for hours with Devyn while she not only managed to positively identify the men who’d hurt her, but also while she answered some questions for the detectives who were working on her case.

There was no way I could expect her to just forget about all that she’d been through. I didn’t think she’d be able to pretend everything was fine and happily ride off into the sunset with me, no matter how much I wished that would be the case.

Devyn was going to need time.

To heal.

To trust.

To believe she deserved better than she’d gotten.

And to get to a place where she felt safe enough to open her heart again.

The last thing I needed to do was come across as insensitive to all that she’d suffered lately by swooping in and expecting her to just jump right into another romantic relationship. Even if her ex was the biggest idiot that ever lived and didn’t deserve an ounce of her tears, I wanted Devyn to have the time she needed to cope with the loss.

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