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“To a seventeen-year-old girl, I’d bet that kind of thing would be important.”
She looked away. Remembering the pain that once again she hadn’t been important enough to warrant an afternoon of her father’s time. Instead he’d left on a business trip to Houston. Leaving her alone the entire weekend. “Maybe. But you didn’t deserve what I did to you. Not when even after all of our quibbling, you were still so nice to me.” She swallowed and met his gaze again. “If I could take back anything, any of the rotten stuff I’ve ever done, I’d start with that. Ordering those boys to do that to you was beyond horrible. It was vicious. I’m so sorry, Travis. I know I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it a hundred times more if you’ll say that maybe someday you’ll find a way to forgive me.”
He just stared at her. His face an unreadable mask. Not saying a word.
It had been asking a lot. Forgiveness. And she could see that she’d been asking for the moon. What she’d done was unforgivable.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. If he couldn’t forgive her, then what hope did she have that anyone would?
Although this man, here, was the person whose forgiveness she needed the most.
And that knowledge terrified her.
…
Travis couldn’t believe what he was hearing. She was asking him to forgive her. When the reason he’d come here was to ask for her forgiveness. To apologize for not giving her a chance.
Worse, for leaving her when she needed him the most.
“Mer. I’m not here because I need you to apologize. If it’s forgiveness you need, you’ve got it. Somewhere over the past few days, not sure exactly when, I forgave you those sins. It’s in the past.”
She looked stunned. And hopeful. Her face, despite the bruising and swelling, actually brightened. Still beautiful despite those injuries. Inside and out. “You forgive me, then?”
“That’s what I said.” But he smiled to lessen the sarcasm. “Even I can see that you’ve changed. And frankly, I’m not so sure you were as rotten as we all thought you were back then. Not even you. Maybe all along, deep down inside was the wonderful, strong, and generous woman you are now, but you kept her buried. Afraid to let anyone in.”
He sobered. She had no reason to believe him. He’d said he’d believe in her, and at the first sign of trouble he’d taken off. He’d seen it in her eyes when she looked at him at the airport. The hurt. The betrayal.
He’d failed her.
“Mer. When you needed me to believe in you, to listen to you, I brushed you off. I walked away. Left you to battle your pain just like everyone else in your life has. And for that I’m sorry.” He brought his hand to his heart as he said this. “I asked you to trust me and then I let you down. That will never happen again. No matter what awful shit you almost do or start to do, I’m not going to walk away. I might threaten to kick your ass if you even try it, but I’m not going to leave. Ever.”
She didn’t look like she was following. For a brilliant woman, she was being awfully slow on the uptake.
“I know we didn’t talk about what we were going to do when this was over. You and me. But now that it’s over, I’m here because I want to ask you out on a—d-d—” Hell. He was stuttering. Like a damn schoolboy afraid to ask out the homecoming queen. “A date.”
Her shock slipped away and a smile tugged instead at that sumptuous mouth. “You’re here because you want to date me?”
He shrugged. “Yeah. Figured you might want someone to spend your lonely nights with after your kid leaves for college. Might as well be me.”
“But what about your job? Isn’t it in California?”
“My job takes me everywhere and anywhere I want. I can be based out of wherever. And with Claire going through a tough time, sticking close to home might not be such a bad idea.”
The giggling made both of them realize their conversation had been overheard. He raised his brows. “Does someone out there find this funny?”
Allie and Darcy peered in, grins pasted on their faces. Allie spoke. “
We’re just both laughing because we can’t believe we haven’t heard any kissing. Jeez, Travis. Grow a set.” But she winked and grabbed Darcy and left them alone.
He looked back at Meredith. “I think they just challenged my manhood.”
“Well, she is a teacher. She probably knows what she’s talking about.”
“Is that right?” he said and took a step toward her. It was hard to miss the excited look on her face. The flush even through the bruises. “Because I seem to remember you screaming half the night how much of a man I was. Maybe even crying. Just a little.”
“I did not.” She almost yelled, giving him the rise he was looking for.
“Oh, right, that was me.”
