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“Hey. Are you okay?”
I shake my head and bite my lip. She comes over and sits on the bed beside me. Always my support. Always my rock.
“It’s going to be okay. I know it’s hard, but at least he’s okay.”
“I know.”
“We can get through this. We have to.”
“I know that, too.”
“You want to go for a run? I’ll take Cody.”
I nod. “Would you mind? I need to clear my head.”
“Of course I wouldn’t mind.” She smiles at Cody, scooping him into her arms and blowing raspberries on his cheeks, making him laugh.
She sits with me while I change, and then she stands, and we walk out into the hall. When we get into the living area, everyone is sitting down. Jagger stares at me when I walk out, but I refuse to look at him. I can’t, not right now. I’m barely holding it together. I’ll get it together, I will, I just need a minute to get myself in the right headspace.
“I’m going for a run,” I announce to no one in particular. “I’ll be back soon.”
I walk out the door before anyone can stop me. Jagger calls my name, but I don’t stop. When I hit the sand, I run. I flat out sprint, pumping my legs until I can’t feel anything else but the burning pain in my muscles and the ache in my lungs as they scream for relief. I round the rocks at the left end of the beach and then stop. I lean over and grip my knees, panting and heaving. When I hear footsteps behind me, I spin around. Jagger is panting, too—he kept up with me and I didn’t even hear him.
I didn’t know he was there.
“What are you doing here?” I wheeze.
“Can we talk?”
“No,” I gasp, trying to get some air into my lungs, “we can’t talk. I have nothing to say to you.”
“Just let me speak.”
“You threatened my life, you had sex with Sharleen, and you kissed her right in front of me. There is nothing to say.”
“I had no fuckin’ choice,” he grinds out. “If you let me speak you’d understand.”
“Oh, you had no choice? You accidentally slipped your dick into her?”
“I didn’t fuck her...”
“Bullshit,” I snap, shaking my head. “I was on the phone that day and you thought it was her. Don’t you dare lie to me.”
“I knew it was you. I knew it was you, and I said that because I hoped you wouldn’t come back. I was trying to protect you. I haven’t and wouldn’t lay a hand on Sharleen.”
I lift my hand, the wild rage bursting out, and I punch him. I punch him so hard in the jaw my hand throbs. He barks out a curse and takes a step back, eyes wide with shock.
“How could you?” I whisper, my voice defeated. “I was trying to help. Did you really think I’d never come for you? We have a son. I was never going to just move on. How dare you? How fucking dare you?”
I turn and walk toward the water, angry tears rolling down my cheeks.
Fuck him.
How dare he hurt me like that after everything?
“Willow!”
I dive in. Saltwater burns my eyes as I swim out to the deep blue ocean—it’s cool on my skin and a relief to my pounding head. A hand wraps around my leg, startling me, and then I’m being pulled backward. A moment later I’m in a hard set of arms, pressed against a firm, warm chest. I try to fight him off, but he’s too strong. Even with my rage, I’m not match for him. That doesn’t stop me from trying, though.
“I’m sorry. Every day, Willow. I thought about you every day. My life has been empty. I lost everything when I lost you.”
Tears burst forth and thunder down my cheeks. “I’ve barely kept my head above water. Cody was the only thing that kept me going. The thought of you with her, it broke me.”
“I swear on my life, I didn’t touch her. I knew it was you, I wanted you to go, to move on, to live your life. I was trying to do what was best.”
“It fucking killed me,” I croak.
He doesn’t answer, instead he tangles his hand into my hair and pulls me forward. His lips close over mine in a desperate, passionate kiss. I groan and open my mouth to him. Months I have imagined this kiss, imagined tasting him again. Imagined how he would smell, how he would feel. His tongue connects with mine and I groan, wrapping my legs around his waist.
He tastes of Jagger and salt water, but it’s bliss. His stitches are scratchy against my lips, but I don’t care. All I care about is him. He makes a ragged, groaning noise and pulls away. We stare at each other, and neither of us needs to speak. We both know what we want, what we need. Jagger walks backward until we are in the shallows. Then he drops me down onto the sand and falls over me.
