A tear trails down his cheek, and I hold my breath, never seeing him cry over me. “It’s Croatian.My fault. I broke you and myself equally. Running was the dumbest thing I have done.” Another tear falls, but he doesn’t try to hide it. “I’ve missed everything about you, about us, but I promise I’m here to fix it all.”
I immediately tear up. My throat feels like a thousand razor blades, and I can’t talk. He isnotthe only one hurting here. “Don’t you dare act like the victim.” My temper rises. “I have cried a mountain of tears over you, so I don’t care how much it hurts sinceyou did this.In the time you were gone, what did you think would happen? That I would easily move on?”
He winces at my tone. “All I wanted was for you to be happy. If I couldn’t give you that, then I hoped someone else could.”
“Oh, really. So why are you betraying your teammate now when River and I have a chance at happiness?” My throat burns with the lump of emotion building. I wasn’t ready for this talk or for my heart to yearn without a fight. I need to stay strong.
“Because we’re meant to be together. I know it. And I think you do too.”
The pain of wanting him hits me like a tidal wave.
Stay angry.
Stay strong.
Whether it’s the quiet surroundings forcing me to remain in control and not scream at him like every part of me wants to, I have no other release until the tears fall, and I swipe my eyes before mascara runs. Brandon’s empathetic eyes meet mine, and wisely, he doesn’t say anything. He simply places an open hand on the table, reaching for me.
The gesture means more than him understanding mypain because if I place my hand in his, I’m subtly agreeing to give him a chance.
The choice is now…
Stand and leave.
Or stay.
I steal a glance at him across the table. His hand rests near his glass, but his eyes… his eyes are locked on me, full of quiet desperation that makes my chest ache.
The logical part of me says to stand, excuse myself, leave, and protect the fragile pieces of my heart. But the part of me that’s still tethered to him refuses to move.
I stay.
“I can leave,” he murmurs, staring at his empty hand. “I can stay out of your life if that’s what you want?”
A sob bubbles up and blurts out of me. “I was slowly finding my way until you came back. I fought so hard to stop the trade.” I look into his beautiful blue eyes that undo me every time. There were nights I fantasized about us getting back together. For a few moments, I allowed my mind to drift until the anger overwhelmed every other dream, and I imagined the profanities I would say the next time I saw him. He knows. He still wants us. We could continue to go around in circles, hurting the other until it ended in angry sex.
Fuck, I went there.
Because the sexual tension will always remain, even when I play it over in my mind and search deep in my soul, I want a resolution. Before we were lovers, there was a time when he made me laugh, not cry. I cannot cry anymore.
My hand moves almost on its own, reaching across the table and brushing against his. His fingers curl around mine, warm and grounding, and in that moment, the noise, fear, and uncertainty—all of it fades.
Brandon squeezes my hand so tight that I flinch. “I’mnever letting you go again,” he croaks out. “And I’ll fight anyone who tries to stop me.”
I’m torn inside, knowing who he means. My heart, my family. I’m laying it all down for him. “This is a chance with a fine line,” I whisper. “In my heart, I know we should try. Our hearts deserve to be healed, but we start as friends first because I’m shaking here…” I lift my free hand, my fingers trembling with the truth of it, “… scared you’ll destroy me a second time.”
His eyes round. “I won’t,” he says quickly.
“You can’t make promises. Even you said you were returning to Australia after the season ends.”
He glances down at our linked fingers and covers my hand with his free hand. “That depends on us…” He hesitates. “And if my boss wants to offer another year’s contract.”
“Well, she is going to have to wait and see how you perform.”
His lips turn up into half a smile. “That is never in doubt.”
“Friends first,” I remind him.
He looks at me for a long while as though he is seeing me for the first time. “Hello, Charlotte.”
