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He narrows his eyes at me. “Yes, I’m sure,” he says, clearly not very impressed with my snide comments, though there’s no denying I’m funny as fuck. But now that the words have flown out of my mind, I’m all too aware of just how immature I’m being about it, yet I can’t seem to help myself.
Carter jumps down from the truck and walks around the front, knowing better than to come help me, despite his chivalrous needs. Opening my door, I swivel in my chair to get out, but I find myself unable to move, and after taking too long, Carter walks around and comes to stand in the open door, peering up at me in concern. “What’s wrong?”
“This isn’t a good idea,” I tell him, the heaviness weighing on my heart, fear gripping me in a choke hold.
“I think you’re wrong,” he murmurs, stepping closer into the open door and pushing himself between my knees, his hand falling to my thigh as those dark eyes remain on mine. “I want to make this work, Bri. I swear to you, I’m not going to change my mind, and I’m sure as fuck never going to hurt you again. We’re going to be a family.”
I shake my head, desperately wishing I could believe him. “I can’t, Carter. You broke me. I don’t trust you anymore.”
Devastation clouds his stare after taking that hit, but he doesn’t back down as he reaches up and trails his fingers down the side of my face in the same way he used to.
My face falls into his hand and he presses his lips to my forehead. “Please, Brianna. I’ve lived the last eight months without you, and it’s been the hardest time of my life. I love you, and I can see it in your eyes that you still love me, too. Just give me a chance to prove to you that I truly do want this. We can take it slow, baby. I’m not expecting you to just fall in where we left off, but it’d kill me if we couldn’t at least try. I know we can make this work.”
His words are like music to my ears. It’s everything I’ve been needing to hear from him, but it comes far too late. The trust is gone and the damage he’s left behind is irreparable. “You’re going to hurt me again, and this time, there’s so much more at stake.”
“I swear to you, Brianna, I won’t,” he says, looking deep into my eyes. A tear falls, but he catches it with his thumb and wipes it away, leaning in and kissing me right there.
“I don’t know,” I murmur, my hands shaking with fear, the idea of Carter hurting me again making me want to crumble right here in the parking lot.
“I know I’ve fucked up, Bri. I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life by letting you go, and I will do anything it takes to get you back. You’re it for me. You and these babies,” he says as he moves his hands to my stomach and cradles our children. “What if we make a deal?” he asks, a sparkle in his dark eyes.
“I don’t know, Carter.”
“We take it slow. I’ll work on earning back your trust, and if I can, then you can decide if this is something worth fighting for, but you and I both know it is. Nobody loves like we do.”
Fuck, he’s such a smooth talker. It makes it so hard to deny him.
I watch him as I think it over, those dark, piercing eyes boring straight back into mine, and I can see he truly means what he says, and it confuses the shit out of me. “You won’t change your mind?” I ask, feeling way too nervous about this.
Emotion shines through his eyes, and I have to resist reaching out and pulling him back into me. “I’m certain, Bri. I’m not changing my mind. I fell in love with those babies the second I saw the ultrasound, and I’ve been madly in love with you since the day I met you. I’m going to be their daddy, and not a damn thing is going to keep us from being a family, not even you. I pushed you away because I was scared of making those commitments, but I’m not anymore. I was a fool, and I don’t want you to do it alone. I want to earn your trust back. I want to raise these babies together. Hell, I’m even looking forward to the sleepless nights and dirty diapers. And then, once the dust has settled and we have our babies in our arms, I’m going to make you my wife, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
Fuck, those words hold the weight of the world. They’re everything I’ve ever wanted.
