“At the cabin. I can show you how to get there.”
Shaking my head, I reply. “I already know where it is.”
Cameron gasps behind me. “He really loves you if he took you to the cabin.”
Grabbing the keys off my sofa table, I rushed to the door. I didn’t stop to change out of my clothes or anything. There was only one goal in my mind: get to that cabin and get my man back. I only hoped I wasn’t too late.
You
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Mitchell
After stuffing the last few things into the bag, I slung it over my shoulder and headed for the door. After locking the cabin up, I turn and head down the stairs. I pause when I hear the rumble of tires over gravel. When that familiar black SUV breaks through the trees, my heart knocks against my chest.
I swallow past the lump in my throat. The SUV stops, and the driver’s door opens. Out steps Ella, her long summer dress blows in the wind, her hair flies across her face. She pushes it behind her ears, giving me the perfect view of her face. I don’t react orsay a word. I silently wait as she approaches me. Her hands are cupped in front of her, and her head is down.
She stops in front of me. I still don’t say a word or make a move. No matter how happy I am to see her or what seeing her could mean, I remain silent. I told her she would have to choose me. I’m sticking to it. The ball is in her court.
“Andrew came to see me today.”
When those brown eyes look up at me, I search them for any sign of what she’s about to say. I look for longing, hurt, happiness, or regret. Anything that will give me a heads-up on how this is about to go.
“And?” I ask once I can’t pick up anything.
She tucks her hair behind her ear once again, even though it hadn’t come out since the last time she did it. My gaze drops to her body. Her nipples are hard behind the thin cotton of her dress. The material clings to her body, showcasing every single one of her deadly curves.
I shake my head, forcing the memories of the things I once did to that body out. This is not the time to think with my cock.
“He asked me to get back with him.”
Everything inside me stops. My thoughts come to a screeching halt; even my breathing seems to stop.
I wait for her to finish, but she says nothing. Hiking the bag back up on my shoulder, I stare at her.
“If you came all the way out here to tell me you’re going back to Drew, you could’ve saved the trip.”
I go to walk around her, needing to put space between us. The quick shuffle of her short legs rushing behind me catches me off guard. Ella steps in front of me, causing me to stop walking.
“Ask me what my answer was?”
This time when I study her eyes, I can read her emotions. There is panic and fear in her gaze. Even her breathing is labored, as if she’s rushing her words for me.
Licking my lips, I take a step back and shift my weight. “What was your answer?”
She lets out a deep breath. “No. I told him no.”
I don’t let it show, but my fucking heart beats overtime and the weight that was once on my shoulders seems to lift.
“For fifteen years, I stayed in that marriage, only receiving partial attention and leftover affection.” She goes on to say. “I was starving in that relationship. I was drowning so deeply in my unhappiness that I was starting to swallow the water and thinking it was saving me.”
I don’t tell her I saw it. How I noticed the unhappiness hidden in the laughter that was never loud enough. The smiles that didn’t reach her eyes, even in the gazes that were never quite right. I noticed her pain, but I too had become immune to it. She wore it so well; I thought it was normal.
“When Andrew divorced me, I was forced to see myself for the first time in fifteen years. I was broken, lonely, and sad. But you were there. You stood by me, pulling me out of my brokenness, encouraging me to lift my head out of the water and see the shore of happiness. You taught me to be strong and independent and to value myself even before you ever made love to me.
“I spent most of my life giving Andrew whatever he wanted. But today, I took that power back from him. And I have you to thank.”
She steps closer, her vanilla scent wrapping around me. She places her hand on my chest. Despite the way my pulse races at her touch, I remove her hand.
