A pain settled in my chest as I told them, “She turned me down.”
Suddenly, Ruby’s eyes rounded, her gaze going just over my shoulder.
“I changed my mind.”
Spinning around, there stood Patience in the doorway, her face a mix of anguish and determination.
“I’ll marry you,” she whispered. Her expressive brown eyes shimmered with flecks of gold and unshed tears. “Is the offer still on the table?”
Heart racing, with a lump in my throat, and unable to get out an intelligent response, I just nodded like an idiot.
Patience stepped closer, placing her hand on my cheek. It was like a magnet. Unable to refuse the pull, I leaned into her touch and soaked up the feel of her soft skin against mine.
With her gaze fixed on mine, she said, “There’s something you need to know, though.” Her palm softly slid down my cheek and cupped my neck. “I was mad earlier and hurt, but in no way did that mean that, besides my son, you’re still not the second most important person in my life.”
My breath hitched, and my eyes stung with unshed tears. I didn’t even care if I came in second. When it came to Griffin, I should.
“I don’t deserve you…” My voice was gruff with emotion.
Those eyes that were soft seconds ago flashed with fire for a moment, and her palm tightened as if to emphasize her next words. “That’s bullshit. You deserve anything you want and more.”
Her hand on my neck pulled me so close, our breaths mingled. Her flowery scent, bright and fresh like a field of daisies, short-circuited my senses. It was her signature body wash she’d always used, one she said was simple, but to me, it was anything but. I shook my head to try and focus but ended up breathing her in again.
Couldn’t resist.
Patience’s gaze softened once again. “You’re my best friend, but we have tiptoed around our feelings long enough. When I say, ‘I do’ it won’t just be for my son.”
In a defeated tone, I tried to tell her what I had earlier. “I’m broken.”
She had to understand what I couldn’t give. I didn’t deserve happiness when my teammates couldn’t have that too, when my anger or nightmares could affect her and Griffin.
“And I said not to me.”
Patience closed the last fraction of space between us. In one motion, she managed to pull my head down even further than she had as she slid up on her toes so she could reach me, our height difference making more work for her.
Then she pressed her heart-shaped lips gently to mine.
Some might say the simple kiss wasn’t anything to write home about, but I knew that if I hadn’t been stunned speechless as waves of emotions zipped through me, I’d have had plenty of things to say about how phenomenal it had felt.
When she released me from her hold and her lips left mine, I missed her touch immediately.
With our gazes locked on each other, she said, “I’m gonnalove you until you love yourself.” Her sweet breath whispered against my slightly parted lips, still reeling from the effect her mouth had on mine. “And thenme.”
Unable to contain them, a few tears slid down my face as she walked away, leaving my heart and mind at battle with one another.
I heard a sniffling behind me and turned around to see my sister crying as she stood staring at me.
“What just happened?” I asked her.
Taking a deep breath, she took a second before answering. Then she said, “Your girl is playing for keeps.”
I’d never been able to resist Patience or deny her anything. That’s why I’d been reluctant to come home and stayed in Texas, hiding like a coward.
Yeah, I was in fucking trouble.
Her words came back to me.I’m gonna love you until you love yourself. And then me.
The thing was…
