Esme sat on the sofa next to me and took my hand. “Oh, honey, you’ve wrecked your makeup.”
“Is it really so bad?” Lila asked, sitting on my other side.
“Did you read it?” I asked.
“We read it,” Delphine said darkly. “That snake.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Gillian said, perched on the coffee table. .
“But I did. I betrayed Hunter’s confidence. He didn’t want me talking about his mother. I mean, it’s unforgivable that I said anything about his personal life. One he’s always conducted with integrity. And now I’ve opened up this whole thing. Invited all this ugliness into his life.” I looked at the lovely, distraught faces of my dearest friends and my heart broke. They were all trying so hard to help, but there was nothing they could do. I’d ruined everything. I felt the tears start again. “How can I explain this to him?”
“Explain what?” Esme asked gently. “That you defended him?”
“I made him … sound broken. And he’s not. He’s strong and good.”
“You were off the record,” Gillian said. “She lied. He’ll understand.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s out there now. Everyone’s reading it. He’s going to—” My voice cracked. “He’s going to leave. And I’m in love with him, and I’m going to have to face the rest of my life knowing I hurt the man I love.”
The lock on the door clicked and Hunter came inside. He took one look at me and stopped. “Hey now, what’s all this?”
The ladies exchanged glances and then they all rose to their feet.
“We’ll give you a minute,” Delphine said.
They all filed out. Esme squeezed his arm as she went. The door clicked shut behind them.
Hunter joined me on the couch, dressed in a charcoal suit that fit him perfectly, his hair combed back, looking more handsome than I’d ever seen him. His expression didn’t seem angry. Not even hurt. He looked soft, actually. Stricken to see me crying.
I could only imagine what I looked like with my mascara streaked, eyes swollen, clutching a handful of tissues I didn’t even remember taking.
Hunter took my hand. “It’s not so bad.”
“Yes, it is. I’m sorry. So sorry. It was my big mouth. I lost my temper. I just couldn’t stand what she was saying and asking about you, and I got mad.” The words tumbled out of my mouth, desperate and broken. “She promised it was off the record. She looked me in the eye, and I believed her. I know that’s no excuse because I never should have said it in the first place. What your mother did is your story to tell, not mine, and I took that from you and gave it to a stranger, and now everyone knows and Dana’s playing the victim and I’ve wrecked everything between us.”
“Seraphina, take a breath. And please listen for a second.”
“I understand if you can’t forgive me. I understand you’ll leave now and I’ll have lost you forever, and I just can’t bear the idea of never seeing you again.”
“Seraphina.” He took my face in his hands. “Stop.”
I stopped. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it.
“Listen to me. Please, try and hear this, even though I know you’re upset.”
I braced myself. Here it came. The goodbye. The thing I’d been waiting for since the moment I let myself love him. I’d done it again. Just like before.
“No one’s loved me like you do, except for Margaret and Wes. But the other three important people in my life walked away. They chose everything else but me.”
“I know.”
“My mother left. My dad buried himself in work. Dana cheated on me.” He paused for a moment, the pain in his eyes evident. “They made me believe no one could love me. But that’s not right. Wes and Margaret love me. Ivy loves me. And now you and Tyler have come into my life, and I’m so grateful. I didn’t believe you were out there. In fact, I’d given up on my dream for a family and wife who wanted to be my number one. But then there you were. Open to love. Open to giving me your heart and taking mine in return. I feel safe with you. And loved. You lost your mind and said some things in the moment because you were defending me. No one has ever done that before. And it makes me love you even more than I already did.” His thumbs traced my cheekbones. “We’re a team, you know? You and me and Tyler against the world. I could never be angry at you for being passionate about me.”
“But I exposed you,” I said. “I told her about your mother. The whole world knows now.”
“The whole world already knew. I put it in the song.” He shook his head slightly, chuckling. “But if they couldn’t figure it out from my song, they sure do now. But baby, I don’t care. All I want is for you to stay with me forever.”
A noise somewhere between a sob and a laugh rose out of my chest. “I thought you would leave. I loved you too intensely and made you go away. Just like before.”
