AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It doesn’t excuse my poor behavior, Yesenia.”
She nods. “I know. But I don’t want you to think that I hold that against you. It was an unfortunate situation for everyone involved.”
“You said ‘ex’ earlier. You’re divorcing him?”
“It was finalized three weeks ago,” she says softly.
“So, all the time I was harassing you with the flowers....”
“They were a welcome distraction, Cade.”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t throw me out on my ass when I came here tonight. I wasn’t certain what to expect. Are you okay?”
“I am. It took a lot before we both had to admit that we couldn’t pick up where we left off. We’d both started moving forward with our lives before he dropped back into mine.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Nicky lost his memory. He developed feelings for his nurse, and they started a relationship. Alternatively, he felt that no matter how hard I tried, my heart wasn’t with him, and I guess I felt the same. I tried because I felt that I owed him that. It just wasn’t enough for either of us, I guess.”
She chews on her bottom lip.
“We dated for a couple of years before we married, and then we were married two years before his disappearance. We had four years together, and then I had another three years without him. Almost the sum entirety of the time with him.
“It was hard to acknowledge that the man I’d pledged my life to would no longer be a part of my life. It was hard to accept that circumstances beyond our control would no longer allow us to be together. That everything we worked hard for had come to an end. But I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”
“And what about him? Where is he?”
She smiles and rolls her eyes. “Back in Rio with the nurse.”
I nod. “Bastard comes in to disrupt your life only to leave you again?”
“No, Kincaid. He needed to return. It gave me the answers I searched for, the closure I needed, and the confirmation that we weren’t meant to be. I met him when I was eighteen and preparing to go to college. We met at a function we were attending, and two years later, we married during my sophomore year. My husband was gone not long after I graduated college and was starting out as a true adult.
“I had so much growing and maturing to do, and it all came at a cost. But Cade, I don’t believe anything I went through was a mistake or unnecessary. It strengthened me, built my faith, and taught me the truth about who I am. I’ve gotten to know myself through this ordeal. So, it was very necessary. His return wasn’t a distraction but the completion of a chapter of my life now closing.”
“And us?” I dare ask.
She laughs softly. “I’ve asked myself that same question several times over the last few months. What would I want from Kincaid if he ever allowed me back into his life?”
“What did you come up with?”
“I’d like to take things slower this time and get to know every facet of Kincaid Holt Maxwell. The dark and the light. I would also want him to know every facet of me, much slower this time, though.”
She stands and stares at me with her head tilted.
“Can you handle slower, Cade?”
I stand and walk to her, taking her hand in mine.
“I can. Can you handle me...full-on wherever that might take us, is the question?”
She smiles, tips up and presses her lips to mine. Pulling back, she says shyly, “My answer...I’d like you to take me wherever that might be.”
