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“Why did you wait for me?”
“Why? Why?” She scoffed a harsh laugh. “As if I had a choice in the matter. Like us fucking just now. As if I have a say. As if I’m not hopelessly yours.”
Her words sank into my heart. Maybe I still had a chance. Maybe, by some fucking miracle, I hadn’t lost her.
“I thought I was doing ten years,” I said quietly.
“Well, you didn’t,” she snapped, her voice trembling. “And it doesn’t matter anyway. You could have served all ten years or one week, and I’d still be waiting for you. Because I love you, Ronan. I never stopped loving you.”
I swallowed hard, wanting to touch her but not daring. We’d just fucked, and she said she loved me, but there is something else between us. Something in her that wasn’t there before.
“The shop looks good,” I said slowly. “Is it doing okay?”
“I’m surviving. Thanks to the money you left me.”
“Good.”
She shook her head. “It’s been hard, Ronan. So hard, you have no idea.”
Tears spilled over but her voice was strong. She was stronger, somehow, when she’d already been the strongest girl I’d ever met. But my heart cracked to think of her struggling for any reason.
“They’re giving me a bunch of money for the time I did,” I said. “$145K. It’s all yours if you need—”
“Jesus Christ, stop!” Shiloh jumped off the desk and shoved at my chest with both hands. “I don’t want your money. Don’t you get it? I want you. I’ve only ever wanted you.”
“They put me away, Shiloh,” I said, catching her wrists, my voice barely controlled. “It was all I had to give.”
She shook her head, tears falling freely now. “No, it wasn’t. There was you.”
“Behind bars? A two-hour drive—?”
“Yes,” she cried. “At least then I could see your face. Hear your voice. Even a little piece of you is better than nothing.”
She broke down then, her slim shoulders shaking. I pulled her to me, my mouth against her hair. “I’m sorry. I thought it would be better that way. For you. For me too.”
She cried against my bare chest, her tears hot on my skin, burning me with guilt and regret.
“I know you did,” she said. “But you’re wrong. It wasn’t better for me. I needed you. We needed you.” She pushed away from me and wiped her eyes. “Come on. We have to go home now. It’s been too long and every minute that goes by is another minute that…”
Her words trailed, sudden nervousness flooding her. I put on my shirt and jacket while she locked up and set the alarm. On the sidewalk, she called an Uber.
“Where’s the Buick?” I asked, wondering if the old thing had finally died.
“At home, in case they need it.” Shiloh said but didn’t elaborate.
I made a vow to buy her a new damn car—something she could use for her business—whether she wanted me to or not.
“Bibi is going to be so happy to see you,” Shiloh said on the way to her house. “And yell at you.” She smiled a little. “Or not. She loves you too.”
“How is she?”
“Perfect. Getting up there but still herself.”
I eased a sigh of relief. A selfish one. Because I realized I loved Bibi too, and if something had happened to her while I was locked up, I’d never have forgiven myself.
The Uber dropped us off, and I followed Shiloh up the front walk. Her hands were trembling as she unlocked the door.
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