CARTER
The front door bursts open and Eliza’s stomps echo through the house.
“Carter Rawlings!” Eliza yells. My name never sounded better.
She comes to a halt in the bedroom doorway, fists clenched. God, she looks beautiful when she’s mad.
“Do you think you can buy your way back?” she snarls, barging in, pointing her finger at me. “Meddling with Quinn’s shop and the library?!”
It seems Miss Penelope forgot about the anonymous part of the donation.
“Don’t you like it?” I ask cautiously.
“I love it!” she yells. “The kids are over the moon. And put a shirt on, I can’t be mad at you when…when…” She waves her hand around my torso. She’s flustered and I love it. “You flaunt your body in my face.”
“Flaunt—” I bark out a laugh and it only pisses her off more. “The problem is that you miss me too,” I say quietly and take her fingers, drawing her closer. She doesn’t resist when I press her palm on my chest and Eliza’s eyes soften when they lower to my scar. The one she turned into one of my strengths.
Goose bumps blossom all over my skin in the wake of the soft brush of her thumb over the red mark. “It doesn’t make you weak to admit it. That you’ve thought of me as much as my mind has wandered through memories of you, every day since I left.”
“I know,” she whispers, surrounded by a cloud of sadness.
“Then what’s the problem? I wanted to help. Don’t reject it because it came from me, and you haven’t still forgiven me.”
“Your idea of forgiveness is to throw money at things that would make me happy.”
“No.” I cup her face with my other hand and sigh in relief when she doesn’t flinch away. How the tips of my fingers missed her. The rounded edge of her jaw and the soft skin over her cheekbones. “I want to be a part of your life any way I can. I won’t apologize for having the means to support your dreams. Don’t let your pride get in the way of helping the people you care about.”
Eliza sighs, leaning into my touch, and my heart soars, pulling me closer to her inviting lips.
“I did forgive you,” she murmurs into my palm. An absolution for my mistakes, sweet words that will bring her back. She pushes me lightly, her gaze reaching the very abyss of my soul.
“We both had issues we needed to fix.” She shrugs. “I moved on. You should too.”
I’m brought back down from the high of my raised hopes, but I’m not ready to give up.
“I can’t go back to that night and unsay the words. Can you give me a chance to prove I didn’t mean it?”
There is no pride in my begging. There is no room for it in the way I love this woman.
She smiles at me as if indulging a rambling child. Eliza doesn’t believe me. I ran away once, she’s got the right not to trust me and it hurts. I never wanted to be another person she couldn’t rely on. Who disappointed her.
“What if what I want is for you to leave?” Her question is soft but it tears me to pieces.
“Do you?” The words are painful coming out. “If you do it would break my heart but…I’d never want to cause you harm again.”
Silence stretches into an eternity with my heart balancing precariously on the edge of her next words.
“I wish I could tell you to leave,” she huffs humorlessly. “It’d be easier than stopping myself from saying yes every time you ask.”
“Then say it,” I urge her, a hand snaking around her waist. I press her into me, relief flooding my veins at the weight of her body against mine.
Her lips pop open, eyes darkening.
My head drops to her ear. “Say yes.” I can’t help dragging my lip along the shell. “Please.”
Our date is going better than expected. Eliza talks about her summer with ease, the food is great, and I’m loving every moment of it. Until she takes out her wallet.
“I know you’re working on your independence and you don’t spend time with me for my money. But hell will freeze over before you pay for anything on our dates. I will spoil you and treat you as you deserve, and you will accept it.”
