“No.” Her voice wobbles, and my chest aches. “You can’t just show up here and say that to me after ghosting me for three days.”
Another step closer, I lift my hand. “Gina…”
“You didn’t reply to any of my texts,” she continues. “You didn’t answer any of my phone calls. You just went on playing hockey, having fun with all your friends while I was hurting.”
I’m shaking my head as she speaks. “I wasnothaving fun. I was in hell.” My tone is level, and I’m doing my best to stay apologetic even as the memory of that guy touching her has heat flooding my veins all over again. “I couldn’t talk to you like that. It was all too much.”
“It was all very innocent.” Her voice is firm. “But you didn’t let me explain. You cut me off without a word.”
Those tears finally hit her cheeks, and they’re like knives to my heart.
“God, Gina…” My voice breaks. “If you could see inside me, if you knew how torn up I was all weekend?—”
“I can’t see inside you, and I don’t know.” Her voice rises, but it cracks on the words. “I won’t do that again, Owen. I won’t be with someone who’ll shut me out like that. It hurts too much.”
I’ve taken careful steps closer with every word, and now I’m standing so close, I could touch her. She’s not wearing shoes, and even though she’s tall, she seems so fragile looking up at me.
Her beautiful green eyes that haunt my dreams are now filled with tears, and my lungs are so tight it’s difficult to breathe. Still, I know I’m in the doghouse because of my own behavior, and I deserve it.
Lowering to my knees, I put my hand on her waist. “You have no idea how it hurts to see you cry… Can I hold you?”
“Owen…” Her voice wobbles, and I take it as permission.
I pull her to me, wrapping my arms around her waist and resting my cheek against the soft cotton of her shirt.
“Gina…” I utter the word like a prayer. “I’m not used to feeling this way about anyone. It scared the hell out of me, and when I saw him touching you, holding you…”
Her voice is soft. “I told you not to be jealous.”
Lifting my head, I look up into her beautiful eyes, which are blinking fast now. “I love you, Gina Grace, and I’m a jealous motherfucker when it comes to you. I wanted to rip that guy’s arms out of their sockets and beat him to death with them.” Lowering my chin, I put my forehead against her sternum. “That’s why I had to talk to my dad. I knew he’d help me understand how I was feeling… and why.”
“You talked to your dad about me?”
Looking up again, my eyes hold hers. “When my momdied, he went through a lot. He was angry, and he stopped believing…”
“Like you?” She slides her fingers through the sides of my hair, moving the long pieces behind my ears.
“Yes.” My breath stills, and I hold her eyes with mine. I have so much to say to her, but I need us to be in a better space. “Would you cut my hair for me?”
Her brow furrows. “Right now?”
“Yeah.” I rise, taking her hand. “Would you?”
Moments later, I’m sitting in a chair in her grooming studio, in the middle of the ceramic-tiled space. The last time I was in here, she was showing me how to give Ladybird a soothing bath… Then LB shook dirty dog water all over us.
Gina drapes a cloth around my shoulders, and she takes out a pair of scissors. “How short do you want it?”
“Mav said no more than half an inch, but I need it off my neck.”
Nodding slowly, she takes a plastic spray bottle off a nearby table and uses it to wet my hair. Then pulls a regular old black comb from the top of my head down the sides. It’s intimate and caring, closer than any words I could say.
“You’re good at this.” I’ve watched Heather when she used to be a stylist, and I can tell Gina knows what she’s doing. “I thought you only groomed dogs.”
“Who said I don’t?” Her eyebrow arches.
I huff a laugh, blinking down. “I walked right into that one.”
“Look straight ahead now.” I lift my eyes, and they lock with hers for a brief second.
