“You should be.” Her confidence was so damn sexy.
Her grin grew wicked as she slid a hand down his stomach straight to his dick. “You know, it seems like you might be up for a different kind of celebrating than Screw was referring to.”
“Not sure. Knowing him, he might very well be on the same page as me.” He mock scowled as he attacked her neck, making her laugh.
“Are you always going to get jealous when he hugs me?”
“Yes, and if any other man hugs you.”
“And will you always take me home and show me who I belong to?” She tilted her head to the side, giving him full access to anything he wanted.
“You know it.”
She turned her head, meeting his lips. “So maybe we blow off dinner and spend the night having a private celebration.”
Fuck yes.“Now that sounds perfect. Let’s get the fuck outta here.”
The bell above the door jingled again, and they both turned. Saint immediately blocked Beth with his body, shielding her from whoever dared to enter after hours.
Melody stood in Beth’s shop.
Saint went still.
Of all the things that have happened tonight, Melody showing up was not on his Bingo card.
“SAINT, WHO…” BETH peered around her giant boyfriend, currently protecting her from, holy shit. “Melody?” She couldn’t have kept the shock from her face if she tried.
She stepped out from behind Saint, ignoring his growl of protest.
“Babe…”
“It’s fine.”
Melody approached slowly. She looked smaller. Not physically, but the self-assured, seductive edge she’d once worn like armor had vanished. Her eyes were softer too. They had a nervous glint. She held herself like someone who’d learned the hard way that pride could cost too much.
“I won’t take much of your time,” she said in a meek voice. Her gaze darted between them before settling on Beth—the safer choice. “I just… I owe you both an apology.”
Saint didn’t interrupt, but he did place his hand on the small of Beth’s back.
“I was angry. And jealous.” She tapped the side of her head. “There are some things I’m working on, uh… some past things that affected me more than I realized. Not that I’m trying to use that as an excuse or a justification for my behavior. The things Isaid and did…” She shook her head, face falling into a grimace. “I caused harm I can never undo. I know that.” She swallowed hard, blinking as she averted her gaze to the floor.
“I’m sorry. Truly sorry. And I’m getting help, uh… getting over what happened with D-Demo, and… other things. I won’t cause trouble for you or the MC again.”
Beth never told anyone, but she’d imagined this moment many times. In her darker moments, she’d pictured herself unloading months of built-up anger, making Melody feel every ounce of pain she’d caused. But as she stared at the woman before her, smaller somehow, fragile, clearly fighting her own demons, all Beth felt was compassion.
She knew what it was like to survive something that broke you.
She knew what it took to rebuild.
Melody was trying, and that counted for something. Whatever drove Melody to act the way she did and make the choices that caused so much pain, it ran deep. And Melody hadn’t come out unscathed. Physically, she suffered far worse than Beth, requiring surgery and a lengthy and painful recovery period.
So instead of letting this play out the way she’d fantasized, Beth spoke from her heart. “Thank you for saying that. I’m not going to pretend what you did didn’t hurt, because it did. But holding onto anger will only hurt more.” She took a breath. “I hope you find peace, Melody. No matter what happened between us, no one deserves what Demo did to you.”
A tear tracked down Melody’s makeup-free face. Then another. She pressed a hand to her mouth, nodding, unable to speak. Had Beth ever seen the other woman without a full face of makeup? Melody nodded once as relief flickered across her face.
“Are you back in town permanently?” Beth asked.
“I’m not sure. Kinda taking it day by day.” She shifted, wringing her hands. “Well, thank you for hearing me out. I’m gonna go.”
