AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I want...”A life with you. Children. To wake up to your face every morning and make love to you every night.“I want to apologize.”
“Excuse me?”
“I treated you horribly at the hospital.”
The memory of how cold he’d been to her, how callously he’d spoken of their lovemaking and the bond they’d developed, had made him experience shame like he never had before. He’d made mistakes in the past. But this time he’d made a deliberate decision and brought unimaginable grief on the woman he loved.
“Well...thank you. How is your mother?”
He suppressed a smile. It was one of the many things he loved about her: she cared about his family.
“On a fast road to recovery and reveling in my father being home. He’s waiting on her hand and foot. I’m fairly certain a dozen roses have arrived every single day she’s been home.”
Her lips twitched. God, he wanted to see her smile again, to smooth the lines of worry from her face and chase the shadows from her eyes.
“My dad told me what you did for him.” She softened for just a moment. “Adrian, no matter what’s happened between us, I can’t thank you enough.”
“I’m glad his prognosis is positive. Dr. Pratt is a pioneer in his field.”
Gratitude shone in her gaze. But he wanted so much more than her gratitude.
“But my apology is not just about that time at the hospital.” He breathed in deeply. “I talked with my mother. I learned a lot about what happened when she lost my sister.”
A wistful smile crossed Everleigh’s face. He wanted to kiss that smile and make sure he was the last man ever to do so.
“We’ve talked a lot these past few days. I have a better understanding of the pain that drove her to do what she did.” And he’d realized that he had blamed his mother for everything, while giving his father a free pass. Something else he’d have to confront eventually.
“I’m really glad, Adrian.”
“My mother told me she was hurt so much by losing my sister that she couldn’t see what she had right in front of her...”
He took a deep breath. His next words would give Everleigh the power either to make him the happiest man alive or plunge him into a despair worse than anything he’d ever experienced.
“I did the same thing, Everleigh. I was so hurt by my mother’s rejection—more than I think I even realized. When she started trying to reconnect, but refused to explain why, I felt like she’d validated my conclusion. That I wasn’t good enough. That I couldn’t be loved. The more she tried, the more it felt like a cruel game of getting my hopes up only to put me right back where I’d started when she wouldn’t answer my questions. Every time I asked she disappeared for days...even weeks at a time. I know now it was guilt and shame, but back then...” He swallowed hard. “I loved Abuela so much. When she died, and when my mother still refused to explain why she abandoned me, I stopped feeling much of anything because it hurt too much.”
Everleigh’s hand started to come up, but she dropped it back to her side. The small gesture gave him hope.
“Nicole awoke that old need in me to be loved, but for the wrong reasons. After we broke up it reinforced my belief that opening myself up, feeling something for someone else, would only result in pain. I equated feeling more than casual lust for a woman with weakness.”
Temptation got the better of him and he reached up, brushing a strand of golden hair off Everleigh’s face.
“But you don’t make me feel weak. You make me feel strong. You make me want to be a better leader, a better man.”
The urge to feel more of her overpowered his good sense and he took a step toward her, capturing her hands in his before she could turn and run from him. She didn’t pull away, but she lowered her eyes.
“What we have...what I feel for you...is so much more than I’ve ever felt for anyone else.”
Slowly, ever so slowly, she raised her head. Her gaze met his, those violet eyes gleaming with unshed tears that twisted him into knots.
“You hurt me.”
Those three words pierced his heart. He brought her hands to his lips and kissed her fingers. “I did. And if you can forgive me, Everleigh, I will spend the rest of my life proving how much I care about you. How I feel about you.”
“Whatdoyou feel for me, Adrian?” she whispered.
He brought one hand up and gently cupped her face, touching his forehead to hers. “I love you, Everleigh Bradford. I love you, heart, mind and soul.”
With that proclamation hanging in the air between them, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.
