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“You left. No word. No nothing. You just left!”
“I didn’t. You sent me a letter saying you never wanted to see me again,” he blurted, and my heart stopped right before the anger took over.
“I never wrote a letter!”
“My mother gave me—fuck, my mother gave me a letter supposedly from you, Rena, saying you never wanted to see me again. I was a kid. I was heartbroken,” he growled.
“Don’t even try that, Jeremy. You are not the wronged party here. I gave you my heart, my virginity, and you walked away and went on with your life, but it wasn’t so easy for me. I was stuck here, damn you!” I yelled and faced him.
His eyes glittered dangerously, the blue so clear they were like glass, but I was not backing down. He was a boy then, but he was a man now. I was not going to let one of the mighty Kents break me ever again.
“Your mother let everyone know I was just a little whore trying to sleep her way into your life to get to your money. I was laughed at by kids at school. I had no friends for the rest of Junior year. Then, I had to go to Catholic school senior year because the bullying got so bad and I couldn’t take it.”
“I didn’t know,” he tried, but I was on a roll.
“Gramps’ priest helped me with a scholarship, but your mother was relentless. My grandparents were embarrassed in town and at Church. And you know what? That wasn’t the worst of it. You broke my heart, Jeremy. I would have to be a fucking sadist to let you near it again,” I finished, and turned to leave.
Jeremy’s hand closed around my arm, and he spun me around so fast, I almost slid on the flour I’d accidentally spilled on the terracotta tiled floor. He steadied me, not letting go as he backed me into the butcher block.
“Alright, you had your say. Now it’s my turn,” he growled, refusing to release me this time. “I fell for you the first time I saw you out my window when you came to live with your grandparents. I had just turned sixteen, just found out I was the starting quarterback for the football team, and I’d aced my AP English placement exam. But none of that mattered when you showed up.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about love at first sight, Rena. I was hit by a goddamned lightning bolt, and my life has never been the same. All I could think about, all I could want, was you. When you started talking to me and I realized you liked me back, holy fucking shit, I was so happy, I could touch the damn sky. Loving you wasn’t a choice back then, I just had to. That night in the greenhouse was the best night of my life up until last night. Rena, I had no idea you didn’t write me that letter.”
I started to tremble, and tears were streaming down my face, but I was frozen, intent on his words and trying to understand. Was he saying he loved me? I sucked in a shaky breath, realizing I wanted that. I’d dreamed of that very thing for so long. It shamed me knowing how vulnerable I still was, how desperate for this man.
Please love me.
Jeremy’s hold became caressing, and I found myself leaning on him for support while he continued to confess things I never thought I would ever hear from a man.
“Rena, I was sent to military school right after that night. My parents did not allow me to come home that whole first year, and after I never heard from you despite the letters I sent—”
“I never got any letters,” I whispered, and he closed his eyes, a look of anguish washing over his face.
“I mailed you letters, sweetheart. Dozens. I swear it. I never heard back, so I stayed away. I am so sorry for all that wasted time.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” I consoled him.
To my utter shock, I realized it was true. Jeremy wasn’t to blame. Neither was I.
But was that reason enough to stay with him and try this thing for real? Before I had a chance to voice my concern, the timer went off, and Jeremy released me to retrieve the muffins. They smelled divine, and I put them on the baker’s rack to cool, and I removed the cream cheese frosting we’d whipped up earlier from the fridge.
“Your muffins still smell like heaven, Rena.”
“You always think with your stomach?” I asked, smiling despite myself.
“No. Usually, I think with my head, but this time, I am thinking with my heart,” he said, standing directly behind me so his cock is pressed against my ass. “You fit me. We belong together. Let me prove it to you. Let me have you. I promise I will spend the rest of my life making sure you never regret it.”
Gulp.
Chapter Twelve- Morena
Snow was falling outside the picture window and that image from the little fantasy I’d allowed myself earlier played across my brain one more time.
“So, what are you thinking, Jeremy?” I asked, turning to face him. “You think I’m single all this time, just waiting for some man to come find me? You think you are going to swoop in, save me from my life, ruin me with perfect sex, until you get bored and look for something better?”
“First, you think our sex was perfect?” Jeremy grinned, and I slapped his chest.
