“Please don’t cry,” he whispers when one errant tear slides down my face.
If I say anything at all the flood gates will open, so I just stand there, blinking and trying to retain some semblance of my composure.
“Baby, please don’t cry.” His voice is so soft, tender, just like when we were together, no hint of the asshole on the phone who shattered my heart into a million pieces.
Which makes me burst into tears.
He pulls me to his chest, holding me tight, stroking my hair.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers over and over. “I was such a jerk, please forgive me.”
All I can do is bury my face in his chest and let out everything I’ve been holding in for the last two weeks. Hurt and fear and betrayal and sadness all comes pouring out, soaking his shirt as I sob.
“Fuck, baby, I’m so sorry.” He’s holding me tight and I swear his voice breaks a little. “But it’s going to be okay. We’ll figure something out.”
When I finally lift my head, my nose is stuffy and my eyes feel swollen.
“Come on, let me drive you home,” he says softly, eyes never leaving mine. “We can come back for my rental in the morning. Give me your keys.”
Without thinking, I hand them to him and let him lead me to my Mustang, open the passenger side door for me, and then watch as he runs over to his rental car and pulls out a small rolling suitcase. He tosses it in the back seat of my car and then gets behind the wheel. It’s a little surreal having him here. I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d ever see him again, and I certainly didn’t envision him coming to see me in person. Maybe when the baby was born, but not now.
“How did you get away?” I ask softly.
“We’re off today and tomorrow, and then we’re playing Roanoke on Wednesday so I’m flying out late morning.”
“Okay.” I’m still a little shaken, confused, and suddenly really tired. “Do you remember how to get to my house?”
“I do.”
To my surprise, he reaches over and squeezes my hand.
I don’t know what to say, so we drive the rest of the way in silence. My eyes close and for the first time since this nightmare started, a little bit of tension starts to drain. Like I can breathe again. He may not want to be with me, but if he’s going to support us, everything will be okay.
At least, that’s the hope I’m hanging onto unless and until he tells me something different.
Chapter 19
Tate
I felt bad from the moment I had that conversation with Angus but seeing Summer makes me feel even worse. There’s no doubt in my mind she’s lost weight and the dark circles under her eyes tell me she hasn’t been sleeping.
And I hate that it’s because of me.
Having her sob in my arms just confirms how difficult all of this has been on her and I’m really glad Angus talked me into coming to see her in person.
“How have you been feeling?” I ask when I can’t stand the silence anymore.
“Mornings are bad. I’m puking pretty much every day when I first wake up. But then by around eleven or twelve it settles down and I’m fine the rest of the day.”
“You look…tired.”
“I haven’t been sleeping well. This has been stressful.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. You just caught me off-guard. We were careful.”
“It was my fault,” she says quietly.
“What was?”
