“She hasn’t been a picnic.”
“Don’t say that about her. I made her that way. When I first met her, she was quiet and kind. By the time I was done with her, she was angry, hard, and bitter.”
“She was hurting, just like you.”
The battle between us is gone, but our grip doesn’t falter like our slow circles.
I shake my head. “I was the one who hurt her.”
“Hart, she knows. She knows our struggles. She relates. If anyone understands us more than anyone, it’s a Fox.”
“She should have found someone else. A guy who treats her the way she deserves to be treated.”
“But she didn’t.”
“Because I ruined that for her. She doesn’t trust anyone because I broke her trust.”
He presses his forehead harder against mine. “Or because she loves you, man. Because she never stopped loving you.”
“What if she did stop, and this has all been in my head?”
“You don’t know until you talk to her. What’s the worst that happens? She rejects you?” His fingers dig into my face. “It’s no worse a rejection than what you’ve been living with for over ten years.”
We part. Bloodied lips. Torn shirts. Old pain. Maybe hope.
He wipes blood over his lip with a chuckle.
I blow out a deep breath. “I’ve carried this alone for so long. This torturous battle inside me. I wake up with it every fucking day. I have been since the night I walked away from her. Battling this need to please and obey my family, and the desire to abandon it all for her.”
“I’m sorry, Hart. It sounds exhausting.”
I stay silent, trying to piece together my next move.
“But honestly, Hart.” Levi stretches his arm. “You stay out of our sibling wrestling matches for years. Never throw the first punch. Walk away. And this week, you’re like a ticking time bomb begging to fight.”
“I can’t think straight.
“I hate to be Dean, but maybe go rub one out.”
I punch his shoulder. “Shut up.”
“Man, it’s what you need.”
“No. I need her.”
His big, stupid grin is cheesy. “Then go get her.”
I find Bronx lounging at the fire pit, poking at a half-charred stick.
“She’s back and hit the hay, big guy.”
My gaze falls on him.
He holds up his arms. “I know. Fuck off.”
I exhale. “You want a beer?”
He quirks up one eyebrow. “You poisoning it?”
