The photographer, the handsome photographer that would have made my bones shake in my pre-Cage Monaghan days, nodded, keeping a neutral, professional expression. “Rae and Brit will get you in position.”
The two assistants took over and within minutes all of my modesty vanished. Every pose was angled to hide fully exposing any part of my body that would qualify my photos being anything but tasteful. We shot for almost two hours with several short breaks. I made frequent leg changes, but most of the shots seemed to be without any prosthetic or robotic leg, truly bare naked photos of me.
“My boss will send you proofs for you to approve and sign off on the final shots for the publication.” The photographer handed me his business card as I exited the dressing room, fully clothed again. “Call me if you want any of the photos for yourself.”
“Thank you.” I smiled. It was weird how awkward I felt at that moment. Naked? Nope. But with my clothes on the atmosphere changed like we had a secret. I suppose the secret was he’d seen me from some pretty intimate angles through a big-ass camera lens.
“By the way. I’m a huge fan of your boyfriend.” The photographer called just as I reached the door.
Turning, I nodded. If Cage knew what he had seen over the previous two hours, the photographer would probably have his eyeballs physically extracted.
“You were amazing, love.”
“Fuck you.” I brushed past Thad waiting outside of the building.
“Excuse me?”
I whipped around. “Don’t! Don’t you dare act like nothing happened in there.”
“What … I don’t?—”
“You should have dated me? Really? Now you’re saying this? The look? The kiss? What the hell?”
His stature shrank several inches as his chin fell to his chest, shoulders turned inward. “The timing is terrible. I know it. The events of my life thus far have been a compilation of terrible timing. I know my chance is slim at best, but what if you’re the one for me? I chose my ambitions over love, and I shouldn’t have. I should have chosen you.”
I shook my head. “You want me because you can’t haveme. You like the challenge, the chase.”
“I want you because you’re in my head all the damn time. You’ve been in my head since the day we met, but the timing wasn’t right, and now time’s running out and I can’t just let you go without a fight. My whole fucking life revolves around you. I spend more money and time on you than anything else. Do you have any idea how many deadlines I’ve missed, how many opportunities I’ve let slip away because all I could focus on was making a new leg for you, making you happy, making you…”
That wasn’t my life. There was no way I was standing in front of Thaddeus Westbrook hearing those words fall from his mouth. I didn’t even feel like myself in my own body. It was a scene from a movie or a Netflix show, but it wasn’t my life. It couldn’t be my life.
“Making me what?” I whispered or I think I whispered. Maybe I didn’t even speak. There was no reason to speak to something that wasn’t really happening.
Thad stepped toward me, gently holding my shoulders. “Making you love me. I was trying to make you love me. I just didn’t know how to show you in any other way. I was scared to tell you that I made the wrong choice. But then you met Mr. Wonderful and I don’t want to let go because I would never forgive myself for not asking you to… choose me.”
Biting my trembling lips together, I shook my head. “Do you really love me?”
Thad’s brow wrinkled like my question was somehow a slap in the face, like I should have known the answer. “Yes,” he whispered.
“Then I’m going to tell you something and when I’m done you’re going to forget about this day like it never happened andyou’re going to do it because love is giving all and taking nothing.”
The defeat in his eyes told me he knew the answer, but I needed to say the words because I did love the tall, handsome geek before me, even if he made me hate him that day.
“I’m not the one for you. I can only be the one foroneman and he’s the reason you didn’t choose me that day. The universe knew something we didn’t at the time. Cage was theonefor me before I took my first breath, and he’ll be the one after I take my last.”
“How can you say that?” Thad shook his head. “What about Ben? If he were standing right here would you still say Cage is the one?”
That hurt. I loved Ben and I would always love him. What hurt the most was the truth—fate took Ben so I could be with Cage.
“Yes. I’d choose Cage. Ben was my first love. Cage is my everlasting love. And you…” I brushed the back of my hand along Thad’s cheek. “You’re the reason I’m changing the world. I don’t want to lose you, but I also don’t want to hold you back.”
“You’re breaking my fucking heart.”
I wiped away a stray tear. “You’re breaking mine.”
He rolled his eyes toward the sky and shook his head. “You’re just worried I won’t make you any more legs.”
“I’m not worried. I’m terrified.”
