“For not giving you a chance to talk. For being an overly emotional, crazed, and selfish bitch to you. You didn’t deserve it.” Standing, she paced the room. “I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. And I’m sorry for slamming the door in your face again.” She froze, and her shoulders fell on a long sigh. Her chin quivered, and he wanted to go to her, to wrap her in his arms. “I’m just sorry—for everything. For a moment, I let my past and my fears and my doubts get the best of me. I accused you of breaking a promise to me when I was the one who broke my promise to you.”
Andrew’s pulse raced. He didn’t need her to say anything else. He already knew what he wanted. He opened his mouth to tell her that but closed it when she held up a hand.
“When I told you I loved you, that was a promise.” A tear fell from her eye. “A promise to be understanding, to be kind to you, to be patient. I promised tohearyou, not just listen to you. And I promised to support you, to believe in you. I failed on all counts.” Paige inched closer to him. “But I need you to forgive me.”
Andrew had said those exact words to Paige at the lake house, when he’d told her he couldn’t walk away. He couldn’t fathom a life without her then.I still can’t. He stood. “Paige?”
“Please,” she whispered.
He wiped her tear away, traced a finger over her brow and down her nose. “You’re not the only one who failed in the promise department. I should have called you. I shouldn’t have let anyone convince me not to.”
“You only did what you thought was best at the time.”
“Still . . .” He caressed her cheek and her eyes fluttered closed. “I can’t let you take all the blame for this.”
She nodded, dropping her gaze. “I guess we messed this one up, huh?”
“And it won’t be the last time,” Andrew told her.
Xavier had brought up good points last night. As much as he loved Paige, they needed to have a serious discussion about expectations. For starters, he needed to know that she wouldn’t break up with him after every disagreement. He needed to be certain they could deal with things as they came, without going to extremes.
“Baby, if we are going to be together, we need tobetogether. I have to have some assurance that you won’t break up with me because we argued.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I guess a part of me is still raw. I freaked out about everything. My mind was running with all kinds of scenarios. Mostly, I’m just stressed out.”
“I understand that. But you have to know . . . I can’t live like that.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
Andrew sighed. “I guarantee that I’ll fuck up again. You will, too. That’s the nature of relationships between two imperfect people. Baby, I want to be with you.Togetherfor me means talking things out, respecting each other even when we don’t agree, and loving each other through everything. There’s no middle ground for me on this. Either we’re together or we’re apart. Because—”
“Together.” She pulled him into a kiss. “I’m sorry you have to ask that question. I’m sorry I made you doubt me.”
“Do you still have doubts?”
She shook her head. “No.” Biting down on her thumbnail, she asked, “Do you?”
“Since I promised to be honest, I’ll admit that I’ve worried that I’m a rebound for you.”
Paige blinked. “What?”
“It’s not that weird. The divorce was finalized a couple months ago.” She burst out in a fit of giggles, which surprised him. “Why are you laughing?” he asked.
“Because you’re not a rebound. Andrew, you’re everything I’ve ever dreamed I wanted and nothing that I deserve. You’re not second choice. You’re theonlychoice.”
God, I’m so in love with her. Every hurt, every disappointment, every misunderstanding faded away in that moment. They’d risked a lot to be together, to take a chance on love, but he wouldn’t change a thing. Because this woman had transformed him, she made him a better man.
Andrew closed his eyes as a surge of emotion welled inside him. There was no way he’d ever be able to let her go, no way he’d be able to live without her. “I don’t think you understand what your words mean to me.”
“If they mean as much asyoumean tome, I get it.”
“I choose you, too. I’ll never not answer your call again.”
A whisper of a smile formed on her perfect lips. “And I’ll never slam the door in your face again.”
Andrew chuckled. “You better not. Or I’m breaking that shit down.”
Laughing, Paige wrapped her arms around him. “I love you so much,” she whispered against his ear.
