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Kiersten bit her lip. “No. I don’t want that.”
“Well? What do you want?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Chris wants us to be a couple. So do you and Brianna. Garrett used to want that, too.”
“Fuck them. And fuck me.” He leaned in. “What do you want, Kiersten? Not your hairdresser or your mailman or Jesus fucking Christ. You.”
“I…I want him to be with me.”
He exhaled. “Then you have a hell of a way of showing it. Do you love him?”
“Love is such a generic word.”
“Bullshit.” He pointed a finger at her nose. “Do. You. Love. Him?”
Did she? When it came down to it, that’s all that mattered. And…she did. She loved him. It hadn’t been like this with Pete. With Pete, she’d practically gotten slammed over the head by their whirlwind romance. There had been no doubt in her mind she loved him.
But with Garrett, it had been a slow building love that snuck up on her. One that came from years of friendship and trust and loyalty. One she could believe in. A healthy, happy love that made her heart warm and her life happier. And how had she treated him?
She’d treated him exactly the way she had been scared he would treat her. She had hurt him, pushed him away, and refused to trust him. To believe in him. And she had done it without a second thought. She was what she didn’t ever want to have in her life again.
She was her own worst enemy.
She dropped her face in her hands and took a shuddering breath. “I do. I love him. But what if he doesn’t love me back? What if it’s too late? I ruined everything. Treated him horribly.”
“He does love you.” Mike picked up his menu. “Trust me. He’s been moping all week. He’s got all the trademarks of love. Sad eyes. Unhappy love life. No sex.” He lifted his glass to her. “If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is.”
“Gee. Sounds wonderful,” she said dryly. “Can’t wait to get me some of that.”
“It is what it is.” He shrugged. “I might not be an expert but I’ll give you a small tidbit of advice. If you love someone, don’t tell them to flirt with another woman. And don’t ignore him when he says he doesn’t want to. And most of all? Don’t push him away.”
Kiersten slumped back in the chair. “I just got so mad when I saw that woman with her hands on him.”
“Yeah. I know the answer to that one, too.” He grinned. “You were jealous.”
She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the smile that crept out. “You’re a veritable font of information tonight, aren’t you?”
“And you get it all for free.” He picked up his menu. “Now here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to feed my niece or nephew, and then you’ll go home and tell Garrett everything you told me. That you miss him and want him and love him. All of that soppy shit.”
She started to rise. “I have to tell him now.”
“You’ve been avoiding it for a few months now.” He cocked a brow. “What’s another hour? Feed the baby and give him a chance to cool off.”
Kiersten hesitated. Garrett had looked pretty angry. Maybe he would need a little bit of time to calm down. But every second he spent thinking she didn’t want him was a second he could change his mind about being with her. She’d put him through enough. “I don’t know.”
A waiter walked by with a steaming cheeseburger, and her stomach growled loudly. Mike chuckled. “Looks like baby agrees with me. Food, then fight.”
Kiersten flushed. “Fine. But I’m leaving as soon as we’re done eating.”
“Deal.”
He turned his attention back to the menu and she did the same. But she didn’t see the words in front of her. All she saw was Garrett’s face when he’d left.
And the pain in his eyes.
An hour later, Kiersten entered the house cautiously, creeping inside on tiptoe. After the awkward confrontation at the restaurant, she didn’t know what to expect of him.
Heck, she didn’t know what to expect of herself, either.
