Oh shit.
He’s mad.
Likereallymad.
“I… don’t know.”
He yanks the wheel right, jostling us as he guides the truck onto the shoulder and shoves the gear in park. He’s vibrating, staring out the windshield at nothing.
“Baby, it’s not your fault. I’m sorry—”
“Don’t you dare apologize right now,” he snaps, wiping a palm down his face, trying to reign in his temper.
This is it. He's done. He’s going to break up with me already. I’m a joke. I can’t even get through an afternoon at his parents' house. He has enough to deal with and I’m making everything worse as usual.
His strangled sigh cuts off my spiraling panic. “You've done nothing wrong. I’m disgusted withmyselffor not payingattention. For being so stubborn and stupid. How did I fucking miss it? Even back then— that look in your eyes. All this time, you’ve been going through some shit and I’ve beenblamingyou.” With a rattling breath, he reaches over the center console to take my hand. Wet hazel eyes meet mine. “I’m done with that. I’m so fucking sorry it’s taken me this long to see you.”
It’s too much.
Dropping his remorseful gaze, I trace the veins on the back of his hand. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”
“Don’t do that,” he murmurs. “Don’t downplay what you're going through to protect my feelings. I see it, Win. The blinders are off. Back then, I let you deflect because I was terrified of pushing you away. But now? I’ve come to the conclusion you’ve got a Remy-Homing-Device shoved up your ass and even if I flee the goddamn planet, you’ll find me in space.”
I snort, blinking back tears. He twists in his seat, his palm cupping my cheek as his thumb skims gently under my eye.
“You said we’re not hiding, right? Well, that applies between us too.”
Tremors continue to wrack my body, my teeth clacking as I nod. He leans over, brushing his lips across my forehead. I suck in a surprised breath.
“You know what you need?” he whispers, kissing the corner of my mouth. I try to chase his lips.
“Kisses?”
He smirks. “Well, yes, you can have those after you brush your teeth, puko, but I was thinking some Italian ice.”
Sniffling, I mumble, “I know what you're doing.”
“Mmm, and what's that?”
“Bribing me to open up.”
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
I choke on a laugh. He runs his fingers through my hair, grinning. “If anyone is breaking into the Vault of Win, it's me.”
Catching his hand, I kiss the center of his palm. “How about we start with the Italian ice, yeah?”
He sighs, “You're gonna tell me what happened back there.”
Half of me wants to triple the locks, but the other half is more than ready to hand over the keys.
I hold his beautiful, sunlit eyes. “I will.”
And I mean it. Just not all of it.
Yet.
Part Two
