AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She turned away, her face unreadable. “Had you done that before?”
“I’ve always been close. Probably too close, but I couldn’t help myself. The pull my heart has to yours is hard to deny, especially when you are hurting. If I could have done everything over again, I would.”
“What would you have changed?”
“Huh?” I was taken aback by her question.
“What would you have changed? The last few weeks? The letters? Waiting our entire adult lives to tell me you loved me. I mean, do you even love me, or do you just love the idea of accomplishing what you set out to do?”
Her words stung. But they were necessary. “I love you, sweet girl, don’t ever question that. I’ve dedicated my entire life to fixing my mistakes and building a future that would include you and our children.” I ran my hand over her belly and she shuddered under my touch. “I was too messed up and too cowardly as a kid to have told you the truth back then. If I could change things, then I would have spent more time being there for you when you needed me and less time obsessing over the what if’s. I know you loved my letters and I wouldn’t trade the expression on your face as you read them for anything else in the world, but I wouldn’t have taken as long to tell you who I am and what you mean to me. That was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”
She was silent for a long while, her eyes searching mine. “So, you’re saying you love me, not just the chase, not just the idea, but me?”
“Yes,” I confirmed, my voice thick with emotion. “I love you, Noelle, all of you. Every bit, every flaw, every strength, everything that is you.”
The atmosphere had shifted, from one of tension and hurt to a fragile understanding, one I was determined to strengthen. I knew then that the road ahead of us was long, but it was one I was more than willing to traverse, for her, for us.
I leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before standing and heading to the kitchen. I’d made French toast and bacon while she was sleeping, since I knew it was one of her favorites. I pulled everything from the toaster oven where I had it kept warm and poured her a cup of coffee. When I got back to the room, she was sitting up with my letters in front of her, reading one. I placed the plate and coffee on her nightstand and kissed the top of her head.
“Call me when you are ready to talk. I love you, Noelle.”
There were tears in her eyes as I left the room. I couldn’t force her into a decision. I couldn’t make her forgive me. She needed time, and I wasn’t lying when I told her I was willing to give it to her. I locked the door behind me and went to my truck, feeling as if someone had torn my heart from my chest. I had no idea how long she would take or how I would survive it.
When I got back to my place, I took a shower and got started on her car. It was Sunday morning, and the shop was closed, so the last thing I expected was the buzzing sound of the bell out front. My heart leapt hoping it was Noelle, but when I opened the door, it was Eve.
“Hey.”
“I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and the opportunity to explain yourself before I kick your ass.”
I loved my little sister, but she maybe weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet. Her larger than life personality and rascally nature made up for the difference.
“If it makes you feel any better, I hate myself,” I said as I stepped back from the door and let her in.
“It does.”
She moved through the garage as if she owned the place, getting herself coffee and climbing up on top of my workbench to sit there and give me the evil eye. “Well?”
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“I want you to explain to me why you ruined the best thing in your life.”
I shook my head slowly as I bent back under the hood of Noelle’s car. “I can’t answer that. I mean, you know I’m pretty good at screwing things up, and I did it again without even realizing how bad it was.”
“You didn’t cheat on her, did you?”
“No, god no! What kind of man do you think I am?”
“One that normally kicks the ass of anyone who hurts my sister, so I don’t really understand how this time it was you who hurt her.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Uncomplicate it.”
I closed the hood of the car and leaned against it. “I kept something from her that I shouldn’t have.”
“What, that you beat the hell out of all her exes?”
“How do you know as much as you do?”
