I swipe my knuckle beneath my eyes, catching tears before they fall.
“Let me ask you this. Does hearing the news you were told last night change the way you feel about her?” he asks.
I whip my head to look at him. “No. Never.”
“Good. Then go home and tell your wife you still love her and you’re never letting her go.”
“How—” I start to ask but he cuts me off with a deep rumble of laughter.
“You’re an open book, J. You always have been. The moment I saw you with her in your kitchen at your graduation party ten years ago, I knew you loved her and she had changed you forever. And, if how inseparable the two of you were that summer wasn’t enough, the way you clung to her last night was a dead giveaway. You love her, man.”
“I do,” I admit.
“And have you told her that since she came back into your life?”
“No,” I tell him, hanging my head.
“If you can sit here and admit to me you’re still in love with her, then get home and do the same to her.”
I bring Griff in for a hug. “Thank you, G. It means a lot.”
“You don’t need to thank me, J. You’ve been an unwavering support for me and my family for years. Showing up for you in any way I can is the least I can do. Love you, man.”
“Love you too, buddy,” I tell him as I get out of his Jeep and into my truck to haul ass back to my wife.
23
Now
When I get back to the house, I don’t immediately seek Taevin out. Instead, I head straight to the basement to unload the bags in my hands.
After another half an hour, I finally make my way upstairs to find her.
“Tae,” I call out when I don’t see her in the main living area. My anxiety spikes when I check her bedroom and bathroom and realize she’s not in there either.
“Tae, baby, where are you?” I shout, taking the steps that lead upstairs two at a time.
My heart sinks when I find her curled up in a ball on one of the guest beds. As I get closer, I realize she’s asleep. Her cheeks have dried tear streak marks down them and her eyelashes still look wet as if she cried herself to sleep.
Goddammit.
I swipe her cheek with my thumb and curse myself for doing so when she wakes up.
“Jax,” she rasps in what sounds a lot like relief.
Unable to compose myself, my voice shakes as my apology comes spilling out. “I’m so, so sorry for walking out on you last night, Taevin. There’s no excuse for me just up and leaving.”
She grasps on to my forearm and tugs me closer. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. I kept that from you for so long.”
“T, no.” I shake my head. “No, baby. You have nothing to apologize for. I’m just so fucking sorry I wasn’t there for you when it happened, and even more sorry that I wasn’t there for you again last night.”
“Where did you go?” she asks in a somber tone.
Staring down at her, I take a deep breath. “First to a bar. And then when Griffin and McKenna found me there, they took me back to their place to sleep it off,” I explain, a mixture of regret and shame churning in my gut.
Taevin props herself up on one elbow and looks around the room, her eyes filling with tears as she does. “When you didn’t come back last night, I came upstairs to grab one of your shirts to sleep in like I used to when we dated.”
Looking down, it’s only now that I realize she’s wearing one of my faded Harvard T-shirts.
