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“It’s okay, angel.” I tried to sound soothing. “Marco can’t stay.” I made that sharper, letting Marco know he wasn’t welcome.
“No!” she insisted. “I need you. Both of you. Please stay, Marco.”
My arm firmed around her. “He doesn’t deserve to be here.”
Marco turned to face her. His eyes were tight with anguish, but his distress did little to melt my icy rage.
“He’s right,” Marco said. “I don’t deserve you. I’m sorry.”
“Of course you do,” she said. “We’re supposed to be together. All of us.”
“You don’t know what he did,” I ground out.
“Whatever it is, I don’t care,” she declared. She reached for Marco, her fingers straining toward him, beseeching. “I love you, Marco. Please, don’t go.”
All the air left my chest, but before ugly jealousy could rise, she turned her sapphire eyes on me.
“And I love you, Joseph. I love both of you. I need both of you.” She looked back at Marco. “Please, Daddy. Don’t go.”
He groaned and closed the distance between them, unable to resist her allure when she admitted her need for him. He knelt by the bed and took her hand in both of his, holding her carefully.
“I can’t be with you, babygirl,” he forced out. “You’re supposed to be with Joseph. I’m not good for you.”
“I’ve told you before, but I guess you forgot,” she said, her voice gaining a little strength. “You deserve to be loved, Marco. And I love you, just the way you are. No matter what.”
His eyes were dark with pain and longing. “But I kidnapped you. I brought you here, and now you’re in danger.”
“I was in danger before you took me. That’s why you brought me here, isn’t it? And when the danger has passed, we can go back to Cambridge. All of us.”
My heart squeezed. Ashlyn had created a pretty little fantasy in her mind. It was past time I gave her the truth about her future.
“We might never be able to go back, angel,” I said quietly. “You weren’t under threat at Harvard. Not after I left. But Marco took you anyway. And I chose to keep you. Now, you might not ever be able to go back. And it’s our fault.”
Our fault. Not just Marco’s. Because I’d done this to her, too. From the moment I’d first met her, I’d wanted her. I’d tried to stay away, but eventually, I broke down. Selfishly, I started a relationship with her, even though I knew it was dangerous for her to associate with me. Just because I’d tried to leave her behind in Cambridge, that didn’t absolve me.
“I never should have come near you,” I admitted, my strain matching Marco’s. We were both at fault, and now Ashlyn’s life would never be the same. “You might never get to go back. You might never be able to have the life you wanted.”
“That wasn’t the life I wanted,” she said firmly. “You helped me see that. I made choices to meet other people’s expectations of me. That’s not how I want to live my life. I want to make my own choices. I want to be with the two of you. Don’t you want to be with me?” She softened on the last, suddenly uncertain.
“Of course we want to be with you, princess,” Marco said. “But we shouldn’t—”
“Don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t do,” she said with sudden ferocity. “I get to make my own choices from now on, and I choose you and Joseph. We can figure the rest out later. I love you. Both of you.”
I love you. I’d waited so long to hear those words fall from her perfect lips.
“I’ve always loved you, Ashlyn,” I admitted. I’d known she was mine from the moment I laid eyes on her. My complicated life had kept me at a distance from her, but now, I couldn’t hold back any longer.
“I love you, too, babygirl,” Marco said with the weight of an oath.
She smiled and sank back into the pillows. “Good. Now, get in bed and cuddle with us. We can put on Parks and Recreation, if you want,” she offered, knowing Marco preferred sitcoms.
He gave her a lopsided grin. “You have to eat your dinner first, princess. Then, we can cuddle all you want.”
My best friend was back; the self-destructive, miserable man he’d become over the last few days was gone. I was happy to see that man go.
“Marco,” I said his name solemnly, calling his attention to me. “I’m sorry for punching you. I owe you one.”
Now that we’d earned Ashlyn’s forgiveness and love, I couldn’t hate Marco. I couldn’t regret my choices or his actions, because they’d brought Ashlyn into our lives.
