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My hands drop from the crib and I crumple as easily as a house made of cards.
“Jesus,” he says. Then strength surrounds me in a rush, honey on smoked wood encasing me like a protective embrace as I’m held against something warm and solid. Something that has an internal beat hammering as wildly as my own.
“Don’t cry,” his voice rasps with a gravel to it that makes it sound like he’s barely holding it together. “Please don’t cry. You’re home. You came back to me.”
I press my face into his chest, sobs stealing the air from my lungs as I cling to him and shake inside his arms.
His deep voice pulls me back to reality where I’ve been repeating the same words over and over like a plea, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Sophie, I’m here. Take a breath. I’m here.”
My sob morphs into a hiccup as I draw back and look at him, at the sharp cut of his jaw, the fullness of his bottom lip, the high angles of his cheekbones, the way his blue eyes are penetrating my soul as he gazes down at me.
“Tell me you forgive me for leaving.” I screw my face up as more tears fall. “I’ve missed you so much. There wasn’t a moment I didn’t.” I reach up to stroke his face like it isn’t real and I need to touch it to reassure myself that it is.
His eyes glisten, tears gathering in each one.
“There’s not a single thing to forgive.” He grabs either side of my face and presses his forehead to mine. “Not one single thing.”
Then his lips are on mine, kissing me like it’s been the worst physical pain to have been separated. He kisses me as I sob against him, gripping him to me and sinking as deep into his arms as I can.
My chest is wracked by sobs and my tears coat the hands on my cheeks. But we keep kissing, desperately holding onto each other like if we are to let go, even for a moment, then we could be lost to one another forever.
“Jesus, Sophie.” Drew scrunches his face up against mine as he dives back into another kiss that has me panting for breath.
“I left you,” I gasp.
“Because that’s what we decided you had to do.” He kisses me again and then moves back to look deeply into my eyes. So deep that it’s like he’s urging me to listen to him, to understand that we planned this. We put ourselves through this willingly.
And we have to pay the price.
“I knew what we were doing. Every second for me has been the worst kind of nightmare. But I knew why we had to,” he says, brushing a lock of hair away from my eyes. It comes away wet and sticks to my temple.
We stare at each other, our hearts thundering in unison. So many things to say. But one thing more important than all the others.
“I love you.”
Drew’s breath crackles in his throat and his face crumples. The sight makes regret pierce me deep in my core.
He swallows, his eyes holding mine. “I love you too. So damn much. It’s what’s kept me going these past eight years.”
“Eight days,” I croak.
“Felt like years.” He gives me a half smile that has me hiccupping out an unattractive sniff as more tears spill from my eyes and he kisses them away.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“Stop.” His lips glide over mine as he tilts my face up and snags my lower lip between his teeth. My breath catches as he lets my lip go, kissing me again, swiping his tongue over my parted lips. “I can’t bear the sadness in your voice, Boss. Please don’t blame yourself. We did this together. You and me.Us.”
“Us,” I echo.
My lower lip wobbles and I fight to maintain control. Because as much as I’m in danger of hiding in his arms, I can’t. There’s so much to say. So much he needs to hear. And so muchI need to ask.
“Henry?”
His eyes darken, and I flinch at the pain that lances over his face.
But as fast as it appears, it’s gone.
