AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She watched her partner walk away. Chloe remembered when Fin used to fuss over her when she was sick. He’d make sure she stayed tucked up in bed. He’d cook her favorite pumpkin soup for her; he’d read to her, and he’d hover and fuss and take care of her until she was better. She missed that.
Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself; she shouldn’t be this nervous to talk to the man she still loved, but she was. She turned the door handle, but before she could push it open, it opened itself.
Fin was right there on the other side.
Since she hadn’t been expecting that, her balance was thrown off, and she stumbled slightly, brushing against Fin as she did.
Goose bumps broke out all over her skin, and it felt as if her heart stopped beating for a moment.
This was where she was supposed to be—with Fin. She’d been stupid to run from happiness in the wake of the death of their baby. She should have clung to the one person who was grieving as much as she was.
Why had she thrown it all away?
Fin was everything she had dreamed about in a partner. Kind, caring, compassionate, strong. He made her feel like a princess like she was the most important person on the planet. The way he heated her clothes in front of the fireplace for her in the mornings during the wintertime because he knew she always got cold. How when it was raining and he dropped her off at work, he would always get out and hold an umbrella over her head as he walked her to the door. That he always left her little notes on the fridge, especially if they missed each other between his crazy hours at the hospital and her crazy hours at the FBI.
She loved him so much. Why had she let him go?
“Chloe.” He was clicking his fingers in front of her face. “Are you okay?” Concern crinkled his brow as he watched her carefully.
She had to fight not to let tears spill out as they filled her eyes. “Fine,” she assured him.
He didn't look convinced. “Did you forget something?” His gaze moved to the table where they’d been sitting which was empty save for the dirty coffee cups that had been there when they got here.
“No.” She fiddled nervously with the Christmas charm bracelet she wore all throughout December. She’d never been anxious around Fin before, but now that she knew that everything she said or did could either help bring them together or push them farther apart, she was obsessing over every little thing. “I miss you,” she said in a rush, going with straight honesty before she could overthink things and wind up being a coward and saying nothing at all.
At her words, Fin froze.
Like he had been turned into a statue.
Her nervousness growing, Chloe began to babble. “I never meant to hurt you. I mean, I know that I did. And given your history, I shouldn’t have left the way I did. Only I wasn't thinkingproperly then. I just knew, well, that I needed time to think. But it’s been months, and I miss you. I didn't realize how much until I saw you again, but now that I have, I know I made a mistake. Abigmistake. And I know I don’t have any right to ask you to forgive me, but Iamsorry. So sorry. I would never hurt you on purpose. You know that. I was thinking that maybe we could go out to dinner?” she finished.
Fin said nothing.
Chloe held her breath, waiting, her heart hammering in her chest.
Why wasn't he saying anything?
His blue eyes were cold, unforgiving.
“Is this because you’re jealous of Taylor?” His tone was harsh, nothing like the Fin she knew.
His words stung. Not so much because of his hard voice and even harder expression, but because it was clear hewantedto hurt her.
She had known that she’d hurt him when she’d walked away. She deserved to stand here and take his anger. He was lashing out at her, and she couldn’t really fault him for it.
Straightening her spine, she looked him directly in the eye. “No. It’s because I miss you.” She took a deep breath and admitted, “It’s because I still love you.”
Chloe had expected him to say or do something at her admission, preferably pull her into his arms, sweep her off her feet, kiss her and tell her he still loved her, too.
But he did none of those things.
He just stood there, glowering at her as the dark, angry, man he’d become.
“It’s over, Chloe. Our baby died, you left, we’ve both moved on. I don’t want to see you again.”
His words were like a slap in the face.
If she was honest, she hadn’t really expected the sweeping heroff her feet and proclamation of love, but she hadn’t expected this, either. She had thought he might meet her halfway, or even come a quarter of the way. But she’d expected him to give her something. Just one little thing to convince her that he still cared.
