The door clicked shut behind them.
Nathan cleared his throat softly, his gaze never leaving mine as he lifted something from his side. A bouquet of pink and white tulips, their petals soft and impossibly fresh.
“They didn’t have a ribbon, so I improvised,” he said, his mouth curving into the faintest smile as I noticed the stems tied together with what looked suspiciously like one of his silk ties. He held them out to me, his hands steady even as mine trembled when I reached for them.“Congratulations, Cupcake, on your first show,” he said quietly, and the way his voice wrapped around the familiar nickname sent heat curling in my chest. “You were incredible up there. I’m so proud of you.”
The tulips felt heavy in my arms, heavier than they should have, weighted with memory, with everything unsaid between us. My throat tightened, and I looked down at the flowers just so I wouldn’t have to drown in the intensity of his gaze.
For a long second, I couldn’t speak. I could only hold the bouquet to my chest like a fragile shield and pray he couldn’t hear the riot of my heartbeat.
“Thank you,” I cleared my throat. “The flowers are beautiful, but I'm actually on my way out.” I walked over to the door and held it open for him, expecting him to leave.
I should’ve known better.
“Elise.” Nathan stared at me, a wounded look in his eyes.
“What? Did you think you’d bring me a bouquet of my favorite flowers and everything would be okay?” I didn’t bother waiting for his response before I shut the door and continuedspeaking. “You really hurt me, Nathan. My feelings for you were real, while you were what? Putting on a show? Pretending?”
“I was never pretending with you, Elise. Everything I ever said or did was real.”
“I wish I could believe you.”
“I should’ve told you,” Nathan continued. “From the beginning. Before I let anything happen between us. Before I let you believe this was… something it wasn’t supposed to be.”
I thought about Louisiana. France. Florida. He had multiple opportunities to tell me the truth, but he continued to deceive me. “But you didn’t.”
“No,” Nathan admitted. “I didn’t. And that’s on me. I hurt you, hid things from you, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for that.”
I didn’t speak. I just waited, watching as every ounce of control he usually held so tightly slipped through his fingers. He exhaled sharply, like he was trying to steady himself, but his eyes never wavered from mine. “I don’t recognize my life without you in it.” His voice was rough, each word scraping against the thick silence between us. “I used to think I liked silence. Hell, Ineededit. Long days, longer nights. Coming home to peace was the only thing that kept me sane.” He let out a humorless laugh, shaking his head. “But then you happened.”
I swallowed, but my throat was dry.
Nathan took another step closer, close enough that I could smell the familiar scent of his cologne.“Every night I reach for you in bed hoping you’ll be there, but you aren’t, because I made you walk away. But you’re it for me, Elise. There are no other options. No one else who is as strong and resilient as you. No one who has your beautiful heart. I used to think your sweetness was the reason we could never work. Turns out, it’s the reason I wanted to become a better man,” Nathan paused. “I should’ve protected that sweetness, not manipulated it. But if you give meanother chance, I promise I won’t ever make you feel like it’s something you need to change about yourself.”
Before I could react, Nathan sank to his knees right in front of me. His gaze was raw, and desperate, and his hands gripped my thighs like he was trying to anchor himself to me. “I fucked up. I played games when I should’ve been honest, and now I can’t breathe without you. I’ll show up at every stop on your North America tour. Every single one. I’ll be wherever you are, reminding you that I’m still here, that I'm yours. That I’ll never stop being yours. You can shut the door in my face, curse me out, call security on me—fine. But I’ll be back tomorrow, and every day after that until you believe me when I say I’m not going anywhere. Ever. Say the word, baby. Whatever it is, I'll do it. Just,” His voice cracked, and my heart clenched so hard it hurt. “Don’t leave me without the sound of you in my life.”
I blinked rapidly, trying to fight back the sting behind my eyes.
Nathan Edge doesn't beg.
But right now? He was on his knees in front of me, stripped of every ounce of armor, laying himself bare in a way that sent my pulse into a tailspin.
This wasn’t the kind of breakup that could be healed by time or a tub of my favorite ice cream.
Believe me, I tried.
The only way to stop the pain was to give my heart what it wanted. “Look me in the eyes and promise me we’re real.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks like a waterfall as Nathan immediately stood up and pulled me into his arms. I buried my face into his chest before he pulled back and clutched my face in his hands. “We’re real baby. We’re so fucking real. I promise.”
Nathan held me for a while and my pride told me not to give him a second chance. That he could hurt me again. But we bothproved that we were miserable without each other. So a second chance at happiness was worth any possible heartache.
“Then I forgive—”
The rest of my words are swallowed up as Nathan crashes his lips against mine. It wasn’t a sweet, rom-com kiss. It was hot, desperate and needy. The kind that I felt all the way to my toes.
It was the kind of kiss that made me wonder how I ever thought I could live without him.
“I can’t believe you really flew all the way to Vegas just to be here for my first show.” I said when we pulled apart, but my arms remained around his neck. “Or that you kept that shirt.”
