She screamed, her hands out like claws. Stomping her foot twice, she got in her car and gunned it out of the neighborhood. Thank goodness they didn’t have any children living on their street and the grandkids were all in school.
Brayden made it to Tilly’s door just as the smell of tires on hot pavement faded away. He knocked.
Tilly didn’t answer.
Didn’t matter. She was in there. “Tilly?” His call was met with silence. “Tilly, I’ve been on the other side of this door enough times to know that you can hear me, so I’m going to talk anyway.
“There was never anything between me and Natalie. She wanted there to be, and I was too low to stand up for myself, for you, for us. I’m sorry.
“I’m leaving with the team today, but before I go, I want you to know that you’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted and the only one I want from here on out. I love you, Tilly.”
He leaned closer to the door, listening with all his might for some movement, some sign that she’d heard him. There. A shuffling. Her feet against the tile, maybe.
His phone beeped to tell him he’d better be on his way to the stadium. He pushed off the doorframe.
Ball two.
Tilly
An hour after Brayden’s dramatic confession through her door, there was a knock. Tilly peeked through the curtains to see Maverik. She let out a sigh and opened the door with a smile. “Hi,” she said quietly. Had he seen Brayden on her doorstep? She didn’t want Maverik to think badly of her, and she thought he probably would if he knew she hadn’t opened the door for his son.
He motioned for her to come outside and then took a seat on her porch. She joined him. The concrete was warm against the back of her thighs, and she sighed into the heat.
“I stopped by to tell you I’m headed back to Arizona.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I don’t want you to go. Can’t you stay?”
He shook his head. “I have responsibilities there, too. Friends. A special lady.”
She perked right up. “You didn’t say anything about this lady before. Plus, weren’t you dating someone here?”
He laced his fingers together, his forearms resting on his thighs. “We weren’t that serious before I left, but the longer I’m away from her, the more I miss her.”
“Aw.” Tilly melted against his side. “That makes me so happy for you.”
“What about you? Any chance you’ll be able to smile again soon?”
“I smile.” She pasted one on to prove it.
“Not that smile. The one that says you love my son. He’s torn up over you.”
She heaved a sigh. “He shouldn’t be allowed to change his mind like that. How do I trust that he’s going to stick to his word? What happens next time we hit stormy seas?”
“A part of you must still love him.”
“All of me does. But I’m so angry he treated me that way.” Her hands clenched into fists. She pushed them together.
“That’s understandable.”
Part of her fight left because of Maverik’s acceptance of her anger. It was like he swallowed it up by agreeing that it had a right to exist. “So what am I supposed to do? Clover says that forgiveness is harder than staying angry, but I’m swirling in this feeling and can’t get my head above the water.”
Maverik stroked his thumb along his jawline. “There’s something to that. You could try walking in his shoes. He’s had to redefine who he is—that’s quite the shake-up. But when the dust settled, all he could think of was you.”
Tilly laid her head on his shoulder again. “How come he didn’t inherit your sweet-talkin’ ways?”
“Oh, I heard him talking pretty this afternoon.”
She snorted a laugh, her heart lifting. “That he did.” He’d sent the nurse packing. He’d even said he loved Tilly.
