“No, of course not. I’d never do that to you, Luke,” I reply vehemently.
“They were right,” he says cryptically.
“What are you talking about?”
“I know you,” he states simply, like I’m supposed to know what that means.
Leaning over the bed, he carefully lays his head on my stomach as his arms gingerly slide up my sides. His face is turned away from me so I can’t see it at all. He’s trying to be easy and not physically hurt me, but the pain in my heart is far greater than any pain in my body. Before I even realize it, my fingers run through his hair, caressing him and conveying my love through my touch. When I realize what I’m doing, my hand freezes in place and I question if I even have the right to do this.
Is he still with Syndi?
As I quickly pull my hand away, he seems to sense my discomfort. His body tenses but he doesn’t move. Leaning my head back on the pillow, I cover my eyes with my forearm again, trying to hide and shut the real world out as much as I can.
“Am I hurting your incision, Andi?” his muffled voice asks.
“No.” That’s not what hurts at all right now. “Mack and Shane told me that Syndi wasn’t really pregnant. Are you still seeing her?”
“I was never technically seeing her, Andi. I made a huge mistake the night I got your ring back in the mail. It happened once, and I damn sure used protection. Immediately afterward, I told her I regretted it and nothing would ever come of it. I’ve always been in love with you,” he says.
He doesn’t say anything else, and I feel him relax against me again. Confused by the light tremors I feel, I open my eyes and see his shoulders moving up and down slightly. I’m stunned speechless as I watch him. My mind literally can’t comprehend the scene playing out right in front of me.
When I hear a sniffle, my heart shatters all over again.
“Luke?” I ask through tears that have sprung up from nowhere. How I have more tears to cry at this point is beyond me.
Lifting his head, he turns to meet my eyes, and seeing his tears completely shreds me. “I did this to us, Andi. I gave up the best thing that’s ever happened to me because I believed the worst about you. I know you, and I should’ve known better. I should’ve had more faith in you and not reacted so harshly.”
“Luke, we both made assumptions and mistakes we shouldn’t have made.” I pause. The next thought is so hard to say that I can barely get it out. “I guess that means we weren’t meant to be since our love failed at the first real test we encountered.”
The pain in Luke’s eyes is palpable, and I know mine is as well. How can we come back from this? We were tested and we failed. Our reactions were impulsive and have done more damage than I know how to control. I came here to tell Luke how much I love him—still, always, forever. But, even if he wanted it, can we get back together and put all of this behind us? How can we never doubt our love again? This whole cluster just adds to the feeling of impending doom.
“I don’t believe that at all,” Luke adamantly refuses my assessment. “You said my initial reaction was genuine. But, I’m telling you, it wasn’t. It took every ounce of strength I had to not rush into your arms and never let you go the very second I heard you were at my door. My heart leaped up into my throat and stayed there. I couldn’t even look at you because I knew you’d have me as soon as I did. I knew I’d forgive you for anything just to have you back again. Is that not why you came here?
“You’re all broken and banged up, but you struggled to get to me before you saw anyone else. Does that really say there’s no hope for us, Andi?”
“Do you really mean that, Luke?” I ask, my voice thick, watery, and barely above a whisper. Unconsciously wringing my hands, I wait for his answer while hanging on to a sliver of hope.
“I mean that with everything that I am, Andi. If I had to walk away from everything right now just to have you, I wouldn’t regret it for a second. It would be a distant memory before we even left the hotel,” he says passionately. “I love you, Andi, more than my own life. More than anyone or anything I’ve ever loved in my life. This is real, and our love didn’t fail the test. It’s still very much alive and fighting. I’m willing to fight for us. I’m willing to fight for my treasure, my heart, my home. Are you?”
A sob breaks free. All the feelings I’ve kept bottled up—hope, fear, rejection, hopelessness, helplessness, heartbreak, love, desire—they rush to the surface all at once. The feelings are overwhelming, and all I can manage to do is cry uncontrollably. Luke shifts on the bed to lie beside me and pulls my head to rest on his shoulder. He shushes me soothingly as he lovingly rubs my hair.
“Luke?” I whisper.
“Yes?”
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Nothing.”
His groan conveys his relief and his love. His lips find mine, and he sweetly kisses me as his thumb wipes the tears from my cheeks. “No more crying, beautiful. You’ll only cry tears of happiness from now on. I’ve missed you so much, Andi. So fucking much. I love you, baby. Please don’t cry anymore.”
As I get my emotions under control, I search his eyes formyLuke.
There he is—my protector, my security, my love. My life.
“There’s one more thing I have to tell you, Andi,” he says tentatively. I cringe but I nod. “No one else has ever hadyoursmile. I was happy I won that fight, but I gave my heart away a long time ago.” He pulls the dog tag necklace out of his shirt and shows me the heart-shaped hole in it. “You have my heart, Andi. You’ve always had it, and I never want it back.”
Pulling his face to mine, I kiss him like he’s my only lifeline. He is, really. “I love you, Luke.”
“I love you, baby,” he says before kissing me again. Pulling away, he looks deep into my eyes for a moment. “I have to ask you about something.”
“Okay. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know,” I promise.
“I saw a new tattoo on your back at the concert the night before my fight. Want to tell me about it?”
“It’s pretty self-explanatory.” I smile. “It’s a pair of boxing gloves, hanging by the strings. Above them are the words ‘Crazy for You.’”
“That song really was dedicated to me?” he asks, disbelieving.
“Yes. Every single time I sang it, it was dedicated to you. You are the love of my life,” I explain.
“I will give you a lifetime of love, Andi,” he says, kissing me again. “You’ll never regret choosing me.”
