“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
The words hang between us.
She shakes her head. “Axle—”
“No.” I brush a strand of hair from her face. “The fight was my fault.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but I keep going.
“I should’ve talked to Cabe before anything happened between us.”
The words feel bitter because we both know they’re true. Maybe it wouldn’t have changed anything. Maybe Cabe still would’ve been just as angry. But he should have heard it from me, and not found out the way he did.
“He deserved better.”
Jovie’s eyes soften. “You didn’t even defend yourself. You just stood there and let him hit you.”
I shrug.
“You didn’t even try to walk away,” she says quietly.
I meet her gaze. “No.”
“Why not?”
I think to myself,Because he’s my brother. Because I love him. Because I hurt him. Because I saw the betrayal in his eyes and knew exactly where it came from.
Instead, I simply say, “I wasn’t gonna hit Cabe.”
Her brows pull together. “He was punching you.”
“I noticed.” I smile.
She definitely doesn’t.
“I deserved his anger.” The words come out rougher than I intended. “And he needed to get it out of his system.”
Her expression softens. “That’s stupid.”
I bark out a laugh, which again proves to be a terrible decision. “Shit.”
She points at me. “See?”
Still laughing, I catch her hand. “That’s how brothers work things out.”
She shakes her head. “You men are ridiculous.”
“That’s also true.”
A reluctant smile finally appears.
There she is.
I’ve been waiting all morning to see that smile, and for a few seconds, we just look at each other.
The sunlight catches in her hair. Her blue eyes shine.
God, I love this woman.
