“You didn’t protect me.”
“You know that’s bullshit, Tulya. I jumped through hoops for Abraham to come and see you. You have been the only person on my brain since this all started. I went from shamelessly flirting with you at the holiday party to falling in love with you… And Emelee was another pawn in my mother’s games.”
Rain started to ping around us, droplets falling on the car. For a brief moment, I thought I’d stuck my foot in my mouth and Tulya would jump from the car despite the weather.
“You love me? How? Why?”
“You can’t wonder how or if it’s true. I started falling deep when I came here after the party, seeing you in your surroundings, wearing a robe, more stunning than ever, and ready to do whatever was asked of you—”
She started to open her door.
“Where are you going?”
With her hand on the door, rain seeping in the small crack left ajar, she turned to me. “You can’t say that. You pushed, then pulled, and then left. Look, I knew it was always your plan, but shoving it down my throat now with falling for me back then, and then coming to Emelee’s aid? I mean, what do you want me to do?”
She didn’t leave me time to reply, just jumped out of the car, running in the storm toward her door.
Without thinking, I did the same. Chasing her to the front alcove, I put my hand on the door as she was closing it. “Stop,” I said, demanding her attention. It was gruff but necessary.
She allowed me to step inside, likely to protect her floor from the wrath outside. We stood there dripping wet, and I took her in—
“You’re more beautiful every time I see you.” I started to encroach on her personal space, and she stuck out a palm to stop me. I abided.
“I asked what you want from me.”
“What I need is for you to love me back. It’s more than a want or a desire. I’ve come to realize it’s a necessity.”
“What?”
She could have backed up, run to another area of the house, but she didn’t. Her feet planted, she stood staring at me.
“My mother doesn’t rule me. Being without you, and seeing what Mag is going through, being forced to live with someone else when he is in love with Valerie and his daughter, to get this. It took me a while, but I got there.”
She looked at me, her hair matted against her forehead from the rain, her lips inviting me—although I would wait for a more formal ask.
“But Emelee was there with you. And then pained? And then you came? And—”
“Shhh,” I said, taking a step, narrowing the small gap between us. “May I?”
She nodded and I gathered her in my arms. My lips met the top of her head, and I allowed them to linger there a while. “Emelee just showed up, and I had to bide my time. When I was finally able to send her off, it was under the direction of my mother. I know, I have to stop listening to her…but I need to help Blake when it comes to Val.”
“I understand. I want her to be with her mother,” she whispered back, her hand holding steady on my waist.
“And I need to fix this for Magnum. I did him wrong. I should have listened to my own brother… I’m ashamed of what I’ve done.”
“We were both only doing what was expected of us, even if it was wrong. This is how we were raised to be.”
I hated how she was making excuses for what I did. “Don’t try to pardon what I forced you to do, and how I chose my mother over my brother.”
“You didn’t force me to do a thing. My mother would have set this in motion with or without you.”
With one hand, I tipped her chin to look at me, not letting go of her with the other. “That’s why I rushed over and grabbed Emelee. It’s not your place to do what Ceci or Ezza ask of you anymore. You’ve done enough.”
“But?”
“But I couldn’t tip my hand and show how I felt for you—just yet—in front of my mother.”
“Maybe never.” Her two words didn’t come out much above a mutter.
