AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His hands are in his pockets, a thoughtful look in his eye when he smiles back at me.
“I bought this place after my first win with the PBR. Didn’t tell a soul—not Dad or Coop, not even you.”
“You were so young.”
“Age doesn’t matter. I might’ve been young and dumb, but I knew what I wanted. I planted this tree the day of the closing because I wanted to have a place to bring you…a place like our spot at the ranch.”
I blink down at our initials, trying to picture him out here carving the tree with nothing but me in mind. If he’d known I was going to break his heart, he might’ve done things differently.
“After you…” He pauses, his eyes darting to the side.
“Lied,” I finish for him. “It’s okay; you can say it.”
He smiles and reaches for my hand, pulling me to my feet. “After that, I hated this place. I hated this tree and everything it represented, because I’d bought this place for us. I tried over and over to convince myself I could still live here, sow my wild oats, and eventually raise a family with someone else.
But that never felt right. I tried to bring women here—”
“Rhett.” I hold up a hand and take a step back. “I’d really rather not hear this.”
He snags my wrist, drawing me back in. “But I need to say it. Just hear me out, okay?”
I nod.
“I tried to bring women here to prove to myself that I could move on, that you weren’t still a part of me, but I never made it farther than the driveway. Every single time, I came up with an excuse to leave or go back to their place, and do you know why, Mo?”
Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I shake my head.
“Because every time I looked at the house, I saw you. So I tried to sell it. Couldn’t do that either, because every time I put it on the market, I got physically sick. Selling it was like admitting whatever we had was gone. I believe now that my heart knew we weren’t over. That’s why I couldn’t sell the house. That’s why the only women to set foot inside have been my mom and Adley.
You and I, we were always meant to get to this place,” he says, cupping my face in his hands. “It just took us a little longer. We had a few obstacles to overcome, but we made it. I don’t regret the empty nights when I drowned myself in the bottle, or the anger I felt toward you, because all of that—all of those feelings—led me here.” His soft lips land on mine. “And here is the place I’ve always dreamed of.”
“Rhett.” My throat clogs, making it difficult to speak. I grip the soft flannel of his shirt in my fist, holding him to me as tears stream down my face. “I’m so sorry I did that to you.”
“No. Don’t do that to yourself. We’ve been through all that. I didn’t tell you this to upset you. I told you because for the last six years, you’ve gone about your life thinking I’d moved on, and that kills me. I need you to know you were always here.” He lifts my hand, placing it over his heart.
He drops his forehead to mine, kisses my nose, and then kisses away my tears.
“Thank you.” I give him a tremulous smile. “I love you so much.”
“Say it again,” he whispers.
“I love you.”
“One more time.”
“I love you,” I say with every fiber of my being. “I’m always going to love you—I always have loved you.”
“I love you, too, baby.”
Want more? Keep reading for a sneak peek at Crazy Hot Love (Trevor and Claire's book), book 2 in the Dirty Dicks series. Buy Crazy Hot Love here ...
Chapter One
Claire
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”
“Stop it,” Mo admonishes, her voice cracking via Bluetooth through the speaker of my car. “He’s nice.”
