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“I’m fine now,” she whispered. “And I have Marcus. I’m not alone.”
Like Eliot would be. It hurt to think of him going. But it hurt even more to think of him alone.
Would he be lonely? Would he miss them?
Oh, her heart was aching… and not just for herself or Marcus. Because they had each other. They’d be okay.
But would he?
“If you need to leave, you can,” she told him. “Don’t stay because you think you have to.”
Pain filled his face. “I don’t want to hurt you both. That’s the last thing I want. Maybe, in hindsight, we shouldn’t have done this. I feel like I’m letting you both down. But I just… I don’t think I can do this again.” He rubbed at his chest as though he couldn’t breathe.
Suddenly Marcus flew at him, wrapping his arms around him. “It’s all right. It’s all right.”
They dropped to the floor with a thump that made her wince.
Marcus wrapped himself around the other man, looking over at her frantically. She managed to get over there on her own. Then she draped herself around the back of Eliot.
What had they done?
“Shh. It’s all right. It’s okay. We’re fine. We’re worried about you. Please, don’t be upset. You haven’t hurt us. You helped us. You’re a good man, Eliot.”
He raised his face. His eyes were filled with pain as he stared at Marcus first. Eliot placed his hand behind the other man’s head and kissed him fiercely. He rested his forehead against Marcus’ briefly before he turned to her. Marcus drew back and Eliot kissed her.
A goodbye kiss.
When he stood, they didn’t say a word. He didn’t turn back at the door.
He was just gone.
Marcus drew her into his lap, and they held onto each other tightly.
“We’re going to be okay, sweetie,” Marcus whispered.
She wasn’t so sure of that. “It hurts.”
“I know. I know it does. I feel it too.”
“I think I fell in love with him, Marcus.”
“Yeah, we caught some big feelings. I hate that. I hate that I love him. But I hate even more than I’m worried about him.”
She leaned back. “You too?”
“You and I have each other, but he has no one.”
She wished there was something she could do for Eliot, but this was what he wanted. As much as it hurt. As much as she wished he could be with them, she got it.
It was the end.
“He was so worried when you were ill,” Marcus told her. “I think it reminded him of what happened with Anna.”
She winced. “Oh no. I didn’t even think of that.” Something tickled at her mind.
Shit.
“Did I call him Daddy?” she asked.
“Ahh, yep.”
“Did that make things worse?” Was most of this her fault? Had she pushed him away? Was there a chance that he would have wanted to spend more time with them?
But no… it was all going to end.
Surely it wasn’t because of her.
You mess up everything, Isla. I wish you’d never been born.
Eliot wasn’t her parents. He didn’t think that.
“La-la? You okay?” Marcus asked.
“I want to go home.”
“Home?”
“Yeah, home. Our home. You and me. I want to leave. Can we?” She’d enjoyed being here more than she thought she would, but she couldn’t stay and not be upset.
“Yeah, sweetie. Let’s go home.”
Chapter 24
Eliot didn’t know why he was still here.
It had been nearly a week since they’d left the Ranch and he couldn’t bring himself to go home to Connecticut.
It was ridiculous.
With a sigh, he moved through his suite. He paused outside the door to the playroom.
He closed his eyes, imagining that he was opening it to see Marcus playing with his digger, and giving him a sassy grin. Misbehaving and ending up over his knee.
Isla would hold her arms up for a cuddle. He’d pick her up and carry her to the rocking chair.
Fuck.
Had he made a huge mistake? But if he went after them, would they even agree to give him another chance?
What would he ever do if something happened to them?
“Urgh, you’re a fucking idiot,” he muttered to himself.
Marcus had lost both his parents, yet he was willing to let people into his life. He was willing to take a chance.
He was far braver than Eliot.
Isla had been taught by her parents that she was to blame for everything that went wrong. That she wasn’t worth anything. He’d only just started to build her up. To show her that letting out her Little side might be scary, but as long as she was around the right people, she’d always be safe.
Fuck.
He didn’t want them to find someone else.
He wanted them to be with him.
Turning, he left his suite, walking without thought until he got to the library.
He hadn’t brought them to the library. Whenever they brought it up, he’d change the topic. Distract them with something else. They’d wanted to read the stories he’d written for Littles.
