“Josh, I’m OK,” I say, gently placing my hand on his arm as the door of the sedan opens and my ex-fiancé steps out.
Josh doesn't budge from his protective stance. He just remains there as a barrier between me and the man who hurt me, his shoulders rising and falling as an aura of warning surrounds him. I can't see his face, but I imagine Josh is glaring daggers at the man ranks last on my list of ‘people I want to see again’.
Elliot Cyril. The man I once thought I'd spend my life with. A man who not only broke my heart, but also destroyed my self worth. I'm not sure what he's doing here, but I can already tell you there's nothing he can say that could ever make what he did OK. He was dead to me the moment he walked away.
"This is private property. You're not welcome here," Josh booms, making Elliot freeze in his tracks.
“Not gonna pull a gun on me, are you?”
“I haven’t made that decision yet,” Josh says.
Elliot baulks. He stands there for a moment, his hands opening and closing by his sides before his eyes move to me and a slow smile forces the uncertainty from his face. "You look good, Gina."
"When a person isn't welcome, that generally means it's time for them to leave," Josh says, his chest puffing in a way that makes him look even taller and bigger. Elliot licks his lips and tries to keep his attention on me, but can’t help but keep glancing nervously at Josh.
"I'll leave once I've had a chance to talk to my fiancée. Alone."
A gasp leaves my throat unbidden.
"Your fiancée?" Josh says, sliding his arm around my waist and pulling me in close. "Is that how you see him, Reggie?"
I shake my head. "Running out of the church is a pretty clear sign things are over. He's nothing to me. I never want to see him again."
“You heard the lady.”
"Gina, I can explain."
"I don't want you to,” I snap. “The only thing I want from you is to never have to see or even think about you again. What you did was horrible. You had months to change your mind, but you waited until the last minute and humiliated me in front of everyone." I feel Josh’s arm tighten around my waist and I lean into him, thankful for his presence. "There is no excusing that."
Elliot nods then takes a deep breath. “I know I hurt you, and I know what I did was shitty and horrible."
"Then why are you here?" I cry, my emotions suddenly getting the better of me and burning in my eyes. "What could possibly be gained by you showing up here?"
"I wanted to say I’m sorry."
"You could have done that by text."
"Maybe. But..." His eyes swing to Josh then back to me as he moves closer and lowers his voice. "Can we maybe speak...alone? Just for a minute. Please?"
Josh stiffens beside me, and I move my hand to the small of his back, a silent gesture meant to assure him that I have this.
"No," I say firmly. "We can't."
Elliot frowns. "You don't even want to knowwhyI walked away? That I see that moment as the absolute worst decision of my life, and I regret it every moment of every day? I want you back, Gina. I was scared then. But I'm not now. I'm ready. And I know you've moved on. Hell, I can see you have. But I'm not going to let that stop me from telling you I still love you. I still want to marry you. I fucked up big time. But I think you and I both know that this isn't what you want." He looks at his surrounds in disgust before letting his gaze rest on Josh. "This is all beneath you."
My mouth falls open, but before I can even conjure up a response, Josh's fist shoots out and collides with the side of Elliot's jaw, dropping him like a sack of potatoes on my front lawn.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Elliot wails, clutching his face as he rolls around moaning, undoubtedly seeing stars.
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? What kind of man shows up uninvited, refuses to leave and theninsultshis host as if he has any right to make a judgement about her life. Your involvement withmywoman ended when you ran out of that church like a scared little mouse without a tail. It has taken a lot for her to pick herself back up again and start livin' her life again. And I'm the man helpin' her do it. I'm here, fixin' what you broke, showing her that the ones who truly love her stand by her no matter what. You think living out in the country anddatin' a farmer are beneath her, do you? Well, look where you are right now—face first in the dirt. Something tells me you're the lowly one. And if I ever catch you sniffing around the woman I love and care about again, I'll do more than just hit you. You might not like it out here, but I can promise to make this your eternal resting place. I've got a lot of land, and I doubt anyone would bother searching it for a slimy little coward like you."
Reaching down, Josh grabs the front of Elliot's shirt and hauls him to his feet.
"You're fucking crazy!" Elliot yells, jerking his body back from Josh's grip. "This is seriously what you want, Regina?"
I take a deep breath and set my shoulders before nodding. "A guy who’d kill for me?” I look to Josh, and my heart swells. Whether his threat was literal or figurative, I’ve never felt so protected and cared for in my entire life. It’s taken this moment for me to realize that he is everything I could ever want. My present, my future, my forever. “It's exactly what I want. I have a home I love, and a man who thinks I'm absolutely perfect just as I am, and a future writing career I can’t wait to get started on.” Josh’s eyes flick to me and his scowl shifts slightly into a smile.
“What?”The word comes out high-pitched as Elliot scrunches his face up like he can’t believe what he’s hearing.
