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“Leave the past in the past, Liz. We’re here now; either the money’s there, or it’s not. How long it’s been there doesn’t matter.” His voice was quiet, but firm enough to leave no room for argument.
And he was right; I knew he was. But it was still hard, and it still hurt.
“I was scared, El. They knew they were fucking me over, and they still did it, and I was terrified so many times because of it.”
“I know.” He squeezed me tighter, holding me closer. “You don’t have to forgive them for that.”
“But I think I already did,” I whispered. “I shouldn’t, should I?”
“There aren’t rules for this kind of thing, and you don’t have to make a decision right now.” His voice was still firm. “Let’s get you in the shower.”
“Let’s?”
He chuckled softly. “Figure of speech.”
Why did I wish it wasn’t a figure of speech?
I chalked it up to the climax hormones I was trying so hard not to acknowledge.
Elliot’s arm slipped under my knees, and I took a surprised breath of air in when he scooped me up off the ground in one fluid motion. He shot me a grin that made my lips curve upward slightly, despite the shock still thrumming in my chest.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my cheeks burning as he started walking up the stairs.
“Carrying my fiancée to the bathroom, last I checked.”
My cheeks burned hotter. “You didn’t have to play along. I didn’t mean to make it uncomfortable.”
“We’re already uncomfortable, thanks to the climax,” he teased lightly. “And we had already decided to get married so you and Ev can get on my health insurance, so technically, I wasn’t playing along with anything.”
Right.
Shit.
I had agreed to that, hadn’t I?
“If I decide to forgive my mom, though, she’ll want to plan something big. A wedding, or a reception,” I explained quickly. “So I put you in an awkward position.”
“Your parents are wealthy, right?” Elliot checked.
“Right.” I leaned my head against his shoulder.
“They fucked with your life, badly. So if you decide to forgive them, the least they can do is throw us a wedding reception in which we dress up, eat cake, and open expensive presents from all of their also-wealthy friends.”
“Ev can’t control his shifts,” I pointed out.
“We have a pack that can take him for a few hours. Hell, maybe even for a weekend sometime. And I do include Sab in that pack, even if she hasn’t technically been to any of our dinners or met everyone.”
My cheeks reddened. “She’ll be so damn excited. She’s been wanting to join a wolf pack since she learned that we’re real—she’s read more werewolf romance books than anyone else on the damn planet.”
Elliot chuckled, setting me down on my feet in the bathroom. He started the water, and stepped back as I leaned up against the counter, watching the way his muscles moved.
My body throbbed.
Damn, he was gorgeous.
Elliot stood up, and inhaled slowly. His eyes closed, and his back hit the wall next to the shower.
“You okay?” I checked, my fingers fiddling with the hem of my cropped tee.
