Page 120 of The Bitter Words

My cheeks heat. “Callum, don’t do this.”

“You’re the one who wanted to stop and talk about my hurt feelings.” He jams his hands into his jeans pockets. “You wanna say you’re sorry, and that’s on the top of my list for the night. We can hit the subject of the restraining order after we cover you and your guy.”

“He’s not my guy.”

“Is that what you used to tell people when we were together?”

“No! You were my boyfriend. He’s not.”

“Does he know that?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“But it does.”

“Why”

“You’re fucking him, aren’t you?”

My stomach spins into a ball of stabbing knives that slice away at my insides. “Is that really what you want to talk about?”

“He’s lucky I didn’t kill him, but I’d rather not go back to jail.” Callum studies me for a second. “How many, Lily?”

With a sudden jerk, I pull back. “What?”

“Is he the only one?”

“Is Zara the only one?”

“Yes, and that only happened because I thought she was you.” He steps forward, backing me up against the wall. He places his palms on both sides of my face, caging me in. His blue eyes burn into mine. “I was out of my mind, high on drugs, and she was wearing your perfume.”

“And that makes it okay?”

“No. None of this is okay. It’s all wrong.”

“Then why did you tear us apart? Why, Callum? Help me understand.”

“Fucking hell. That’s the problem, Lily. You never could and never will.”

We stare at each other with our hearts entangled in a confusing web, but the love flowing between us is so real and undeniable I’m sure anyone walking by can feel it.

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He inches forward. “Fuck it. I love you and want you back.”

His mouth crashes to mine and his tongue slips through my lips. I sink into our kiss for a second, then I push him away.

“Callum, I can’t do this.”

“Because of your guy?” He gestures to the bathroom witha wave of his hand and his face grows pained. “For the record, I haven’t been with anyone since you. I’ve fucking waited and until tonight, I wasn’t even considering giving up on us.”

“Don’t put this on me. You just told me you were with Zara. I haven’t been with you since her, so you can’t say things like that and expect me to believe it.”

He growls and turns his head. My stomach tightens and reality smacks me in the face.

I’m wasting my time. I try to brush past him, but he wraps his arm around me.

He brings my back flush against his chest and whispers in my ear, “Don’t leave me. I don’t wanna be apart any longer. We belong together. Lily, I love you and miss you more than anything.”

I whimper and face him. “And what about everything else? How do we move on from all that?”