Page 139 of I Wish You Were Mine

Tuck’s eyes stay on mine when he says, “I feel like I’ve wasted a lot of time, actually. I hope to change that.”

I look at Mom. “Did you?—”

“Help Tuck plan this?” She gives me a little smile. “He reached out to your father, then he called me. He made his case, and Dad and I agreed that you should hear him out. It’s up to you, though, to decide what happens next.”

My vision blurs with tears as I turn back to Tuck. “You reached out to my parents?”

“Of course I reached out to the most important people in your life.” He lifts one massive shoulder. “We’re family. Or I hope we’ll be.”

His words cause a pileup in my brain. They don’t compute. One minute, this man is letting me walk out his door because he’s having doubts about our relationship. Now he’s saying he wants us all to be family? He’s telling me he’s inlovewith me? Before the hospital, I had a suspicion I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. But to hear him say it out loud after everything that’s happened...

I put my hands on my head. “I don’t understand.”

“Here, I’ll give y’all some space.” Mom gives my arm a squeeze before she scurries into the restaurant. “Good luck!”

Even the bartender makes herself scarce, pushing through a door beside the bar.

Tuck and I are alone in the front of the restaurant. Just me, him, and the baby bump between us.

I stare at the space where my Mom was just standing. I’m confused about that too. Is she actually on Tuck’s side now?

I look at him. How the fuck did he manage that?

“I can explain,” he says, reading my thoughts.

Anger fires through my veins. I drop my hands. “Now you’re ready to explain?Daysafter you let me walk out of your life, alone and in the dark?”

His throat works as he swallows. “I am so sorry, Maren.”

“You’ve put me through hell. My life is a living nightmare, Tuck, and I mean that literally. I’m not sure I’ve slept more than a handful of hours since I left Bald Head.”

“Ask me to leave”—he nods at the door behind me—“and I’ll do it. Right now. I don’t deserve your time, but I’m asking for it anyway. Give me five minutes. Two. I’ll make my case and if I don’t convince you, I’ll leave.”

Scoffing, I shake my head. “You don’t deserve my time. No one’s ever hurt me the way you have.”

“No one’s going to make it up to you the way I will. The things I’ve been sending you?—”

“Screw your gifts. You know that’s not what I want.”

“That’s what I’m saying. They were a poor excuse for my behavior. I was an idiot to send them, but I didn’t know what else to do.” His voice gets husky. “But I did some work on myself—talked to some people whose opinion I respect—and they helped me find the courage to do what I really needed to do. I need to explain myself to you in person and beg for your forgiveness.”

My throat tightens. I can’t tell if I’m going to cry or scream.

All I know is I won’t be able to get back up if I let this man bring me to my knees again.

“You should go,” I whisper.

His face falls. “Maren?—”

“I can’t handle it anymore, Tuck.” I wipe the tears that spill from my eyes. “The back and forth. The sudden changes of heart. I can’t do it.”

He blinks back his own tears. “You shouldn’t have to.”

“Then why put me through it again?”

“Because.” His expression is tortured, brow furrowed, eyes full. “You deserve better, and I’m here to prove to you that I will do better. I can be better. If I didn’t think I could give you the world, the stability and the love you need, then I wouldn’t be here. You want me to leave, fine. But for the rest of my life, I’ll regret not having the chance to make this right.”

The anger inside me is still very much alive. So is the shock. But I feel a gap forming between them, just large enough to let sympathy slip in.

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