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What the ever-loving donkey balls! My mouth dropped open, the words fleeing as I stood, gawking at him, shocked by his statement. I hadn’t expected him to be so disarming, and I didn’t know if I could trust that this was him being honest, or if it was another mind game. Slade took my shock as an opportunity and sauntered closer, his cocky swagger on full display as he approached.
His finger lifted, and I tracked it as it came toward me. Slade closed my mouth, pushing my still open jaw closed, never taking his eyes off me as he spoke.
“I'm all in, Peach.”
Blinking, I reset my brain, working hard to stay up to speed with the racing thoughts running through my mind as they battled it out. “I don't get it. How are you capable of going from one extreme to the next? You hated me for years, and now you what? Love me?”
“You weren't listening, Peach. I said it would’ve been easier if I could hate you. Not that I did.”
“Then why have you been such a butthole towards me these past couple of years?”
He sighed, hanging his head for a second. Slade’s hand now cupped my jaw, a touch I didn’t find myself hating. When he looked back up, he moved closer, touching our foreheads together.
“It was the only way I could stop myself from making out with you every damn day. You infuriated me with your sexy ass and your ability to walk around and be all hunky-dory when my heart had splintered. I thought you were pretending you didn't even know who I was, that I’d meantnothing. The simple fact you could ghost me and rub it in my face by how unaffected you were, well it enraged me. And I tried. I tried so hard to push you away.”
“Yeah, well, you were pretty successful there.”
He closed the last remaining space between us, invading me with his scent and sexual arousal. Both hands cupped my cheeks, and I sucked in a breath. Slade's dark eyes bore into mine, and for the first time ever, I saw all of him bared to me—heart and soul.
There was no way this was a lie. Yet, how did it explain the picture Thane showed me? How did it excuse him from stealing his brother’s letters? My gut told me I knew who he was though. Even at his worst, I knew Slade Evans.
“I'm sorry, Peach. I'm so sorry. I regret never saying anything and believing my Starry Nox could hurt me that way.”
It was the perfect thing for him to say. I closed my eyes, unable to look at him any longer. A tear slipped free, and my heart ached. It would be so easy to give in right here, to let Simon and Slade comfort me and distract me from the hole in my heart.
“Now that we have all the information, all the cards on the table, I'm not gonna let you walk away.”
“I don't think I can give you,either of you, what you want,” I whispered. His thumb brushed against my cheek, wiping away the tears.
“What happened during your time away then? If you came to that decision,” Simon asked.
I stepped back, unable to keep my resolve if Slade kept being tender. “I uh, well, I first had to go meet with somebody, just to kind of see for myself.”
“You met withhim, didn't you?” Slade asked, his voice going heavy as his breathing increased.
“Yes,” I admitted. “I met with your brother.”
“Notmy brother,” he professed violently.
“Whatever your family drama is, that's between you two.”
“He's. Not. My. Fucking. Brother,” he bit out through clenched teeth. At least this Slade, I was able to distance myself from. “My brother is in Africa. How else am I supposed to prove that to you?”
“Well, he claimed you made that up, and that well, you were the one to steal his letters and spike my drink.”
The room went silent for only a second before Slade stormed over, wrenching the door open, and stomped out. I stared, stunned he’d left. “Well, that makes it easier,” I sighed.
Simon walked over, but before he could comfort me or say anything, Slade walked back in. His breathing was still quick, but he’d calmed some. The oddest thing was his face and hair were dripping with water, the top of his shirt also soaked through.
“Why would I make that up? That's the most random place to pick. I don't even know where Liberia is, for crying out loud.”
Slade stared at me, asking and I realized he’d left to calm down instead of striking out at me. Something about him sticking around, and not lashing out at me showed me he was being honest.
“Yeah, I mean, I don't know, okay. Thane had a picture of you guys together at the tattoo shop. That’s how I knew he wasn’t lying about being your brother since you were clearly in it. Which, hey, one more thing you kept from me,” I groused. Taking a few deep breaths myself, I focused on the current problem at hand. “Do you have a picture of him or you guys together?”
He sighed, closing his eyes, exasperation heavy in his tone when he spoke. “Peach, I have a fucking flip phone. I don't have pictures on it.”
“That's right,” I snapped. “You're so weird with your flip phone.”
