Page 110 of Tempt Me Forever

"I'm so sorry," I said.

“Kimberly, it's not your fault. I think that asshole came here looking for a reason to fight my sister. I can't believe it. And she was so hopeful on the phone."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Drake shook his head. “She thought that maybe he'd come to his senses when he saw the baby and would want to come back home.”

I felt as if someone punched me in the stomach. Poor Suze. She was holding on to that hope, which was no doubt making everything that much worse.

“But what if he was? You never know. Then he saw me unable to take care of his kid and went ballistic.”

“Nothing could be further from the truth.” He came in front of me, grabbing my face.

My eyes watered. "I'm really sorry. I didn't want to cause trouble.”

“We'll work everything out together, okay? God, Kimberly. I love you for caring so much. I love you."

I smiled even through my tears. "And I love you. That's what I was thinking about earlier,” I confessed. “Before everything imploded. That I love you.”

"See?" he said, pressing his forehead to mine. "We'll get through this, okay?"

A knot tightened in my stomach. "But what if we don't and she loses custody? And then she only gets visitation rights and sees him once in a while? Growing up without a mom is hard. What if he can use what happened against your sister? I mean, it would look bad, wouldn't it? That someone who wasn't able to take care of Michael is a constant presence around him?"

I was beside myself. The more I spoke, the more I realized that this was really, really bad.

"Babe, you're entering some sort of spiral. We’ll deal with this. Declan will fix it, and if he can't, I'll get my sister the best lawyers."

"But I don't want her to have to fight or go to court because of me. I think it would help the odds if I wasn't in the picture anymore."

Drake frowned. "If you weren't...? What are you even talking about?"

"Well... what if she tells a judge or something that we’re not together anymore? That the stupid lady who caused Michael to choke is no longer with her brother?"

"Kimberly, stop. Why would she tell him that? You're not making sense."

"I don't know. I mean, if it would help her win, then I’d stay away."

Drake jerked his head back. "What are you saying?"

I put my hands over my face, shaking my head. "I just don't want her to lose custody of the baby because of me."

"So you'd break up with me for that?"

I bit my lower lip. “No, no... I just.... Maybe. For a while. I don’t want him to lose his mom.” I realized this wasn't making any sense. Why had I even said it?

“Kimberly, you just admitted you loved me. Talk to me. I need to understand what’s going on in your mind.”

“Idon’t even understand what I’m thinking.”

Declan stepped back inside. “I think the doctor’s out there. Someone parked in front of the house.” He looked between Drake and me with alarm.

“What’s going on here?" he asked sharply. I realized I'd teared up even more. My eyes were probably red. "Tell me you're not giving my cousin shit for what happened."

"I’m not," Drake said categorically.

"He really isn't." I pressed my lips together. "I'm not in a good headspace."

"Then I suggest you and I go and let Suze rest. It won't do Suze any good to see you out of sorts," Declan said.

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