My hands shake, and my heart pounds. Blood rushes in my ears. What if he no longer wants me? What if, without the drugs, he doesn’t love me?
“What are you doing here, April?” he asks.
I swallow nervously at the sound of his voice. “I, uh, I thought…”
He cups my face, and I lean into his soft touch. Like a dam breaking, tears spill from my eyes and a sob comes out. He wraps his strong arms around me and holds me against him.
My hands grip his shirt, and my face burrows into his chest. “I’m sorry,” I cry.
“April.” He sighs. “I’m the one who is sorry.”
“No, no, no,” I say quickly and pull away, sniffing.
He pushes his glasses to the top of his head, and my breath catches in my lungs when I see them. They’re so blue. No drug-hazed fog.
“I’m sorry, April.” He swallows and brushes the tears from my cheeks. “I destroyed me. I destroyed us. But I promise you, I’m going to be better. I owe you that.” His hand comes down to touch my stomach. Fresh tears fill my eyes. “And our baby. I’m supposed to work for forgiveness.”
“Grave, I already forgive you.” It’s true. This man is trying to be better. And I know he can.
He tightens his arms around me and kisses my forehead. I half laugh, half cry. I don’t know what will happen in three hours or three years, but I know that this man is my king, and I will be his queen and protect him at all costs.
GRAVE
I wrap myarms around her, never wanting to let her go. I inhale her scent and let out a long breath.
She eases away first and gestures to my car. “I thought you would like to drive it.” She hands me the keys.
I take them from her, and we head over to the car. With a small smile, I open the passenger door for her. She thanks me and slides inside. I close the door and make my way to the driver’s side.
“I hope you weren’t disappointed that Titan wasn’t the one who picked you up,” she says softly, staring down at her hands knotted in her lap.
“April.” I reach over and cup her face, lifting her chin so she has to look over at me. Those ice-blue eyes I see every time I close mine stare at me. They’re swimming in unshed tears. I’m not sure if they’re tears of joy, sadness, or regret. I hate I can’t read her right now.
I lean over the center console, moving closer, and her breath hitches when her eyes drop to my mouth. Our lips are inches apart when her cell rings. I pull away and start up the car as she answers it.
“Hello?” she answers, her voice shaking. She clears her throat and tries again as I pull out of the parking lot. “Hello?”
I sit back in the seat, letting my shoulders relax. I didn’t expect her to be the one standing outside of Harbor Heights, but she was the one I wanted.
“Yeah, we’re on our way,” she says.
My left hand grips the steering wheel while my hold tightens on the gear shift.
“Okay, I’ll let him know.” She hangs up. “That was Titan. He has your suit at the church.”
Silence falls over the car and I want to ask her a million questions at once. I want to kiss her for hours. Hold her for days and love her until I die. I have to earn that privilege. I have to show her what she means to me.
“I—” She gets cut off as her phone rings again. “I’m so sorry.” She sighs, picking it up.
“Don’t be sorry,” I tell her, giving her a quick side-eye.
“It’s Jasmine, the girls.”
“It’s a big day for Emilee,” I say with a nod. “They’re probably wondering where you are.” I’m not sure if they know she was picking me up, but I can only imagine they’re drunk or on theirway to it. Starting the celebration early. The wedding is in two hours. “We can talk afterward.”
I don’t have to be back until eight tonight, and I only plan on dedicating a few hours of my day to this wedding of the year. The rest will be spent with April.
The moment wearrived at the chapel, we got separated. April went to get dressed and have her hair done. I was shoved down a long hallway into a room where a tux was waiting for me, hanging in a garment bag with my name on it.
