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I grab her arm just above her elbow and spin her to face me. “It’s not mine.”
She shrugs, not meeting my gaze. “It’s none of my business.”
“Bullshit.”
That gets her gaze. Her eyes are filled with fury and hurt, and all I want is for her to unleash it all on me. I deserve it after years of never seeing her the way she deserved to be seen.
“Let it out, Laney. Tell me how you really feel,” I prod.
She puts her hands on my chest and shoves me back, before pushing those delicate fingers that have traced every inch of my skin into her hair, her eyes everywhere but on me. She paces back and forth for a second before facing me and letting me have it.
Fucking finally.
“I hate this. I hate that you stuck your dick in every supermodel in LA. I hate that I know about all the women you’ve been with and that never once did you look at me like that until I tried to end our friendship. I hate that sometimes I wonder if this is going to last because you’ve never been serious about anyone before. And I hate that you were with Jen Summers and now she might be having your baby when the only woman who should be having your baby is me. I hate it, Dom.”
I swallow thickly, feeling each of her words like a strike to the heart. “I get it. I hate all of that too. But that baby isn’t mine.”
She rolls her eyes. “You can’t say that definitively.”
“Actually, I can. We’d have had to have sex to make a baby.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but then snaps it shut, staring at me in shock. “Y-you never…?”
I shake my head. “Her husband did catch me with my pants literally down around my ankles because I had just started undressing. Nothing had happened except for a heavy make-out session.” I grip the back of my neck, debating whether to tell her the rest. At this point, the only thing I have to lose is Laney, which isn’t an option.
“I’m embarrassed to admit I struggled to get hard. Maybe it was the booze, maybe not, but I couldn’t keep it up, so we just made out and then we were going to try being naked when I already knew I should’ve called it quits. And that just happened to be the moment her husband got home, something I suspect she knew was coming based on the look on her face.”
She stares at me, and I hold her gaze so she can see the truth in my eyes. Her shoulders sag, most of her fury dissipating but the hurt still remaining.
“But it’s not just the women, is it?” I ask.
“You didn’t appreciate me. For years, you took advantage of how much I did for you, never really acknowledging it.”
I step closer to her, desperate to touch her, to ground myself. “You’re right. I didn’t. I took you for granted in every way possible, and I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life. Knowing all the time I wasted not loving you as fiercely as you deserved. Not treating you like the gift you are.”
Another step. This time, close enough that our toes touch. She looks up at me, tears welling in her eyes.
“But I’m going to love you with every breath I take for the rest of my life. I know I don’t deserve you, Laney, but you’re all I want, and that’s never going to change.”
“How do you know?” she whispers as a tear slips free. I reach up and brush it away with my thumb.
“Because you are the only woman I’ve ever wanted to come home to. The only one I’ve ever called at the end of a long day. The only one I’ve ever confided in. You are my heart and soul. Without you, I’m nothing. I might’ve been dumb not to see you for what you always were before, but you’ve got to admit, I’m not a guy who typically makes the same mistake twice.” I drop my forehead to hers. “When it comes to your heart, I will never do anything to risk losing that. Please, Laney. Have a little faith in me. I promise I won’t let you down. Not again.”
“I’m scared, Dom. I’m scared I’m not going to be enough for you.”
I pull back, my brows furrowed. “Where the hell would you get the idea that you aren’t enough for me?” Her gaze drops, but not before she glances toward the door leading back to her mom’s room. My jaw clenches. I knew she was messing with Laney’s head, but to make her daughter feel like she’s not good enough for me is bullshit.
Fuck that.
I lift my hand, tucking it under her chin until her eyes finally meet mine. Fuck, I want to get lost in those deep pools of blue for the rest of my life.
“It’s not you who needs to prove you’re enough. You’re more than enough. You’re so out of my league, it’s not even funny. Don’t ever doubt that, Sunshine. You’re my light. Screw what anyone else says,” I say, pointedly glancing toward her mom’s room before looking back at her. “I’m yours, until my last breath and final heartbeat.”
Her shoulders sag, but not in defeat this time—in relief. I wrap my arms around her shoulders, pulling her tight to my body. She wraps her arms around my waist, and everything feels right in the world. For so long, I convinced myself I needed football to be worthy or have purpose.
I was so wrong.
All I’ve ever needed is her.
