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“Where are you guys going for your honeymoon?”
“We are only going away for the weekend, at a cabin in the woods, and it has a lake out back and a hot tub.”
“That sounds amazing.”
After dinner, I feel a hand on my shoulder. “Can we talk? Please,” Hayden begs.
“I guess.” Pushing my chair back, Hayden takes my hand in his and leads us to his bedroom.
“You look really pretty in that dress.”
“Thanks. You wanted to talk.”
“Um…I…I want to apologize for last night. I was out of line treating you like that. What can I do to make it up to you? Please, Claire. This is fucking killing me.”
“There is nothing you can do, Hayden. I never want to be treated like that again.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. I fucking swear,” he promises.
“If I’m being honest, I would have enjoyed that a hell of a lot more if you talked to me first. So it isn’t that I’m a prude, I would like a heads up if something like that comes up again. And I have a feeling it will.”
Hayden sits on the edge of his bed, and I sit next to him. “I’ve never told anyone this, but I have what I refer to as ‘The Beast’ inside me. He’s vengeful and has a lot of rage. Normally, he only comes out when I’m in the cage. But when I lost, it threw me I into a tailspin, and I don’t know how to keep the beast within.”
Taking in Hayden’s words lets me know who he truly is. He continues talking.
“And I have this thing where I want to take control of you and make you do dirty things.”
I laugh. “You have made me do dirty things. Things I would never think about doing with anyone else.”
“I’m being honest. This is who I am, Claire, and you can accept it or walk away. If you plan on walking away, tell me now.”
A hard lump forms in my throat.
“What’s the worst you have done?”
“As of now, treating you the way I did, without your consent. Knowing that, it kills me inside. And you had every right to slap me across the face.”
I nod in response.
“Even at your worst, I don’t think I can walk away,” I admit.
Hayden reaches for my hand and kisses my knuckles. “You’ll give me another chance?”
“Yes.”
He brings me into a hug and kisses my neck. “Thank you.”
“But you fuck up again…”
He cuts me off. “I know. And I’m sure you saved me from getting my ass kicked by Rowan, even though I can easily take him,” he jokes.
“Maybe. But I wouldn’t want to test that theory.”
He laughs, and the lines by his eyes crinkle. “You’re probably right. Should we go join the others?”
“We should. They probably think we are in here fucking.”
Hayden laughs again and takes my hand as we join the bride and groom on the dance floor.
