“We still love you, Eve. You’ll always have us as a family.” He opens his arms, and I don’t hesitate to throw myself at him.
“I love you, too, Miles. I never once stopped. I thought about you every single day. I would have rather died than hurt any of you. I hope you know that,” I whisper into his shirt.
“I do know that.” He rubs his hand over my back in soothing motions as I give in to the guilt. “You’re going to have to forgive yourself at some point, Eve. You were nineteen and pregnant. Your dad found your weakness and used it against you. You did what you did because you loved us. All of us would have done the same thing in your shoes. We protect the ones we love and we can’t be angry with you for that. It’s time you let go of the guilt. I think three years is enough pain for all of us, so how about we move forward and enjoy the fact that I’m an uncle again to the most adorable little girl I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
I sniffle against his chest. “She is pretty adorable, isn’t she.” I smile and wipe away the last of my tears as we watch her dump her bucket and start to put all the shells back in.
“We will have our hands full when she’s older,” he laughs before getting quiet again. “Thank you for bringing her back home to us.”
“It’s where she belongs.”
“It’s where you both belong,” he corrects me.
“That’s to be determined. Your brother is on a date right now with Mackenzie,” I mutter, releasing myself from his hold.
“Oh shit! I completely forgot about that.” His shoulders shake with laughter. “I bet he’s going out of his mind right now.”
“That makes two of us. I knew there was a chance he could move on at some point…I just wish I didn’t have to witness it.”
“You’ve got it all wrong, Evie girl.” He grins widely, and I can’t help the smile that appears on my face when I hear the nickname he always used to call me. “This is the first date he’s been on since you left.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You don’t have to lie to me, Miles, to make me feel better. I was gone for three years, and guys like Ryder don’t stay lonely for long.”
“I’m not lying. I swear,” he laughs.
I search his eyes and try to see any reason to doubt him. Is he really telling the truth? “This girl must be really special then. I guess time will tell if there will be a second.”
“You don’t get it. He’s not going out of his mind because he doesn’t know what to do. He’s going out of his mind because he’s going to have to tell this girl that he found you again. He’s going out of his mind because he’s sitting with a girl right now, wishing he was back here with you and Ryland.”
“I don’t know, Miles. He’s barely touched me since I’ve been here. I’m not sure he wants to give me a second chance.”
“Maybe because he knows once he does touch you, he won’t be able to stop. He wants to get his emotions under control first. There’s a lot you still have to talk about. He’s probably in his head about all the guys you’ve dated and trying to get past all these emotions creeping up from seeing you again.”
“There was no one, Miles,” I say, shaking my head quickly. “All I thought about was getting back to him.”
“Then your first step, Evie girl, is letting him know that.” He grins at me before scooping up Ryland and making her giggle as he spins her around.
Could it really be that simple? Thoughts race through my head as I process what he just told me, and one thing slowly starts to bring my heart back together.He waited for me.
CHAPTER TEN
RYDER
Well, that went as good as expected. I hated hurting Mackenzie, but I had to be honest with her. I can’t believe I had forgotten about the date but when I realized the time, I knew I couldn’t cancel last minute. She at least deserved a nice meal and an explanation about why it would be our last. Luckily, she was very understanding about all that had gone down in the past couple of days and appreciated my honesty even though it wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
I’m not sure where Eve and I stand, but I know that under all the emotions I’ve been feeling since I first saw her, I still love her and have never stopped.
The comment she made about not waiting these past three years has stayed in the back of my mind, tormenting me. Did she really leave and push me out of her thoughts? The thought of her with another man makes me see red, and the more I think about it, the more it pisses me off that while I was waiting for a ghost to come back, she was off doing God knows what.
I pull into the driveway and park in the garage before going into the main house. Pouring a bourbon, I take a big swallowto dull the anger flowing through my veins. It’s like everything I’ve shoved down for the past three years wants to come out all at once. I down the rest of my drink and pour another one. The warm liquid finally does its job, and I feel myself getting more of a grip on the emotions slamming into me.
I walk outside and quietly enter my place. It’s after midnight, so I know they will both be asleep. Dinner was over at ten, but I’ve been driving around aimlessly with my thoughts, trying to calm myself the fuck down.
I go over to Ryland first and smile when I see her in her new bed. She’s clutching a teddy bear in her arms, and I gently brush back her soft curls before placing a kiss on her head and inhaling her sweet scent. I fix the covers around her before turning and seeing Eve on the couch. She’s in a tank top, and I stop when I notice she’s just wearing a thong with it. Her shirt has ridden up, exposing her flat stomach. Her breaths are even as her breasts rise and fall. My hands itch to pull down her top and taste what’s always been mine. Whatshouldhave been only mine.
She moves to her side, and I feel myself get hard when I see her perfect ass exposed to me. How many times have I buried myself inside her while I felt that ass pressed against me as I rode her hard from behind? My hands form a fist at my side as the need to touch her becomes too much. I’m not in the right mind frame, and I’m treading on dangerous territory. My dick throbs against my jeans as I force myself to keep walking to the bathroom.
I quickly undress and turn on the shower. Having her this close, half-naked, on my couch is tempting me, and I don’t trust myself not to do something I’ll regret in the morning. I fist my hand around my swollen erection and moan when I go long and hard down my length.
