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Jaw set, he stalks towards me with determined strides, roughly taking my face in his hands and pressing his head against mine.
“Oh, baby, I wish I had kissed you. If I could go back, I would kiss you a thousand times over so when he looked at you, you wouldn’t see it because all you would feel is my touch.”
My heart breaks all over again.
I want him.
Probably more than I’ve wanted anything in a very long time, but I can’t if there’s a risk this isn’t everything I’ve dreamed it to be.
“You get to walk away at any time. I don’t think I can risk that. Not with the girls.” Because as much as everything in my body is screaming at me to give in, they will always be my priority.
Head raised, his eyes are dark, and I see nothing but fear. “You act like I haven’t been tethered to you in some way for ten years. You act like those girls haven’t become the center of my universe since you moved here. I’m risking too, because if I lose you and those girls, you can take my fucking heart from my chest and stomp all over it.”
I try to say his name, but it leaves my lips in a tortured whisper.
“Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you, and make no mistake, Beth, I’m crazy in love with you. It’s the type of love that will drive me insane. The one that keeps me up at night, but the one I don’t think I can breathe without anymore. You consume me, and everything around me. I don’t belong to myself anymore. You made sure of it.”
The fracturing of my heart takes me by surprise, an unexpected ache so profound it leaves me breathless. Yet, there's a beauty to it, a unique tenderness that permeates each crack, each fissure. It's as though my heart seeks to reshape itself, contorting and mending into a shape that's meant to fit only him.
He doesn’t stop, even as I stand here, unblinking, desperate for his touch.
“But I didn’t just fall in love with one woman. I fell in love with three. I’m not their father. I wish I had, but I didn’t create them with you. But this feeling in here…” He thumps his fist against his chest. “This love for those crazy, beautiful girls, that’s got to be how a father feels. It can’t be more because I swear, I’m about to burst.”
He's right. I think he fell in love with my children before he ever allowed himself to fall in love with me.
There they go… all those walls I spent so long creating simply crumble. My legs give way and a sob ruptures from my chest.
But this time, I’m not alone in my pain. His is just as raw.
I’ve never seen a man break completely until this moment when Logan’s knees buckle and bend.
He doesn’t let go.
Not once.
If anything, he only holds me tighter.
I hear “I’m sorry” against my head over and over again. But he has nothing to be sorry for.
I look up, tears streaking my cheeks, and press my palm against his face. He wipes the tears away with his thumb. “I’m sorry too. Even when we shouldn’t have to say it, I’m still sorry.”
His hands continue their tour of my face, like he’s trying to commit every inch to memory. “You’ll always be safe here, you know that, right?”
A weak smile curls on my lips. “I’ve always known that.”
“I need to kiss you. I need to know this is real.”
I can’t answer because my heart is in my throat, but I nod and keep nodding until his mouth crashes against mine.
It happens again.
The world stills.
Everything makes sense.
A groan vibrates against his chest. His hands are in my hair. Mine are tugging at his T-shirt.
When a small gasp fills my lungs, his tongue dives into my mouth. Each movement I meet with equal vigor, and before I know it his hands wrap around the back of my thighs, lifting me against his waist as my back meets the wall. Tongues dueling, his dominance is overpowering, and I willingly submit. He’s somehow greedy and giving in his kiss. I take everything he’s giving, drinking him in as he swallows the moans escaping my throat.
