Mathew gave him a curt nod and then turned to Marcus. “What you did was brave. Risky? Of course. But brave, nonetheless. Wynter wasn’t ready, but you were. You put your heart out on the line, and she wasn’t ready to accept it. That doesn’t mean it’s over.” Before Jason could say anything, Mathew gave him a warning stare. “The only question now is whether or not you’re going to keep fighting for her. I stopped fighting. When my ex-wife said she was done, I gave her the out. I thought I was showing her how much I cared for her by letting her walk away.”
The man had been broken. The way his eyes shifted to focus on nothing at all made it clear he’d gone through the wringer.
“Honestly, it was for the best. She didn’t want a life with a man who couldn’t prioritize her, and I wasn’t ready to be there for her in the way she needed.”
“What about now?” Marcus queried.
“What do you mean?”
“If she came back, would you want to try again? If she forgave you…” Marcus could tell Mathew knew where he was going with this line of questioning. Was it worth trying again when there was so much history and pain between them?
Mathew answered right away. “I don’t know. I never thought about it. What about you? If Wynter walked through that doorright now, would you drop everything to be with her? Would you do things right this time? Learn from your mistakes?”
“In a heartbeat,” Marcus said with conviction. “I still want her. Maybe even more than ever.”
Mathew nodded. “Then that’s all that matters. Don’t push too hard. Talk to her. Open a dialogue when she’s ready. And then give her space.”
Jason chuckled again. “I don’t know if Marcus is capable of that. Did I ever tell you the way he threatened me when I started dating Isabelle?”
Marcus narrowed his eyes. “That wasn’t an idle threat. I meant every word.”
Jason held up both hands. “Oh, I believe you.” The grin on his face said otherwise, and Marcus fought the urge to lunge at him just to get out some pent-up energy. Lucky for Jason, his next words were enough of a distraction. “So that’s what you’re going to do, then. Wait on her front porch until she comes home? Demand an audience and wait it out? You might be on that porch step for hours. In this weather, you could be at risk for hypothermia.”
Marcus glanced over at Mathew and smirked. “I guess it’s a good thing that I know a fantastic doctor.”
“I wouldn’t say fantastic…” Jason drawled. But then Mathew slugged him in the shoulder, eliciting a yelp. He scowled at Mathew as he rubbed his arm.
Then Mathew slugged him again.
“Hey! What was that for?” Jason demanded.
Mathew jerked a chin in Marcus’s direction. “For Marcus. You need to learn how to support him. He’s going to be your future brother-in-law.”
Jason cut an annoyed look at Marcus, but there was still humor in his expression. “Yeah, okay.”
Mathew chuckled. “Hear that? He’s on your side now.”
Marcus shook his head with a laugh. “If you say so.” He pulled out his wallet and threw some bills on the table. “I guess now is as good a time as ever. I’m going to see if she’ll give me the time of day.” He tossed Jason a knowing look. “Or maybe I’ll just have to risk hypothermia.”
“That’s the spirit.” Jason laughed. “Good luck.”
28
WYNTER
Wynter wanted to say it was the cold that had her frozen in her spot the second she shut the door to her car.
But that would be a lie.
Marcus’s eyes were locked on hers from where he sat on the porch. He was hunched over, his forearms resting on his knees and his hands dangling loosely. Those eyes are what did her in.
Every single time.
Since the conversation she had with Grams, Wynter had been struggling with how everything had gone down with Marcus. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d overreacted, even though she was still scared to death to face him.
“Marcus,” she whispered.
Slowly, he rose to his feet. He was blocking her path to the house, but she knew he didn’t pose any threat to her. She could get past him if she wanted to, and he’d let her.
