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“Then there’s only one thing you can do, Hawk.”
“What’s that?” I ask in a frenzy, hoping against hope he’ll have some solid advice.
“You need to tell her how you feel. Then you need to resolve whatever is holding you back from the past. You can’t have a future with the past nipping at your heels. Let that shit go. Learn from it, grow from it, and then put it where it belongs…behind you.” Tate seems happy with his advice. And he’s not wrong.
I’m still processing and trying to come up with a way to use his advice when he adds, “The most important fights in life are usually the hardest, but man, they’re the ones that are worth it all. Trust me, I battled my own demons and so did Lucy. It wasn’t always sunshine and roses, but I knew I had to change and give it my all to be the man she needed. We had one helluva fight waiting for us even after we were finally together.” His features tighten as he speaks and I’m sure he’s remembering the night he almost lost Lucy forever.
“But we fought for our love and for each other and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. She’s my world, the best part of me,” he says with a sincere smile.
He chuckles and adds, “I know you’ve got it in you. You kind of have the fighter vibe down.” Then he levels with me, unaware of how much truth there is in the words he just said. “It may not be easy, it may not be a fight you win right away, but if you love her the way I think you do, she’s worth every bit of fight you have in you.”
I nod and offer him a sincere, if tight-lipped smile. “You’re right. And I uh—thanks for calling me out.”
He smirks and then checks his phone. “Speak of the angel, I need to get going. And hey, it’s the weekend, so don’t worry about working tomorrow.” He stands and deposits cash on the table to pay for his food. He glances behind him to where Brittney is filling another drink for someone and then turns back to me. “It’s time to win your girl back.”
He raps his knuckles on the table as he walks away. I decide he’s right. It’s time to fight for what I want. And I want Brittney. From now on, there’ll be no mistake. She’ll know how I feel even if I must make myself bleed to earn her trust again. I’ll make her see the real me…
I stand and make my way toward the counter to pay for our meal. Tate left money on the table, but it can be the tip. Dread settles in my gut as my gaze locks with hers again and I remember her shouting at me, she knew I slept with her sister…but I didn’t, and I was stunned those words left her mouth. She said she saw me with her sister before, but I didn’t know what she truly meant, and I let her assume what she wanted. I never trusted Mandy. But that night, my anger got the better of me and it would seem I fell into some sort of trap.
But it still doesn’t explain why Mandy told me Brittney ran home and said I tried to force myself on her. I would never. Not then and not ever. I may have had to use violence and be violent when I was in Nashville, but not ever regarding a woman. The mere thought of violence of any kind toward a woman makes my blood boil.
Tate is right. We need to talk and lay the past to rest if there’s any hope of a future.
Brittney tenses as I hand the bill and cash to her. She takes it without speaking and tries to give me change, but I hold up my hand in protest. “Keep it.”
“Thanks,” she says and then starts to walk away.
“Brittney…” I call after her.
She stops and waits for me to say something.
“We need to talk. Please. It’s important.” My words leave my lips and even to my own ears it sounds like such a vulnerable plea.
She stares at me for a moment, and I can only imagine the wheels turning in her mind. “Meet me at Frank’s Diner when I get off. I leave at eleven tonight. You have the time it takes for me to drink a milkshake.”
“I’ll be there. Still chocolate banana, right?”
One side of her mouth tips up a bit. “That’s right,” she confirms.
I smile and walk out of High Road into the night air feeling slightly better than I have in years. Until I see a blacked-out SUV parked in the lot at the edge. Its lights switch on and it drives slowly out of sight.
I won’t let Matteo or any of the Leones anywhere near her. After tonight, Brittney will hear the truth and hopefully we can forgive each other for whatever truly happened or didn’t, and then we can move on…together.
Iwalk into Frank’s Diner, and it only takes a second to see Hawk waiting for me. He’s tucked into a booth in the back with two milkshakes in front of him. He glances up as the door closes behind me. When his green eyes focus on mine, his lips tip up into a smile. My silly heart flutters in my chest at the sight.
I truly don’t know why my heart insists on taking flight each time I see the man who broke it. Nonetheless, I head toward the table to find out why he wants to talk. Nothing good can come of constantly seeing him in all his rugged handsomeness. I slide my purse off my shoulder before sitting across from him in the booth.
“How was the rest of your night at the bar?” he asks before I can think of what to say.
“It was fine. Zander let me off a little early tonight because I clocked in two hours before I was scheduled,” I tell him as I play with the straw in my milkshake.
“That was nice of him,” he returns, with a forced smile.
A few moments of silence tick by between us.
“What do you want to talk about, Hawk? You said it was important.”
He doesn’t break eye contact; he simply leans forward as his green gaze holds me hostage. “We need to put the past to rest once and for all.”
