Page 113

Chapter Thirty-Two

Piper

My hands shake, gripping the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles turn white, as I pull up in front of the house and stare at Wyatt’s bike in the driveway. I don’t know what to think. Yesterday, he was telling me that he will be signing the divorce papers in the morning and then when he calls me today, he tells me he loves me and needs to get me to safety. I’ve got whiplash from his ever-changing moods and I don’t know how much longer I can do this. Pressing my hand to my belly, I remember the ultrasound picture we saw of our baby yesterday and shake my head.

I can’t believe that was only twenty-four hours ago.

Whatever happens, we are bringing a baby into this world and if he doesn’t want this anymore, doesn’t want me, we have to find a way to raise this little one together. Pain blooms in my chest and tears sting my eyes as I think about the possibility of being a single mother after I thought I was getting everything I’ve ever wanted and a sob bubbles out of me. I clamp my hand over my mouth and lean my head back as the tears start slipping down my cheeks and my chest shakes. I love him so much that I can’t even explain it, can’t find the words to describe the feeling I get whenever I see his face, and I don’t know how I’m going to survive losing him a second time.

Opening my eyes and looking up at the house, I meet Wyatt’s eyes as he stands in the doorway and gasp, my heart climbing into my throat. I wipe the tears from my cheeks and turn the car off but I can’t force myself to get out. After a second, he starts walking down the stairs toward me and my heart races out of control.

Oh, God, what is he going to say?

Does he still think I’m cheating on him?

Is he leaving me?

When he reaches my door, he opens it and holds his hand out to me with a nervous smile on his face. His eyes are full of fear and uncertainty and it doesn’t do anything to calm my emotions. My stomach tightens painfully as I slip my hand into his and step out of the car. Pulling me into his arms, he looks down at me, our gazes locked together as my heart feels like it’s going to explode in my chest and my stomach flips. Each breath punches out of my chest, matching him and slowly, he lowers his face to mine and gently claims my lips. A sob shoots through me as I melt into him, swallowed up by our kiss and his firm touch holds me together when all I feel like doing is falling apart.

I can’t lose him.

The mean, hateful words he hurled at me yesterday echo through my mind and I pull back, shoving him away from me as I shake my head and take steps back. “Stop, Wyatt.”

“Baby,” he breathes, reaching for me and I shake my head again. As much as I want to fall back into his arms and believe him when he tells me that everything will be okay, I can’t. Not anymore. These issues between us are bigger than either of us realized. He sighs, running his hand through his hair as he glances down the street. “Let’s go inside.”

I nod and ignore his outstretched hand as I pass by him to go into the house. It’s not that I want to be cruel or hurt him back but I know if I let him touch me again, our connection will overwhelm me and demand that I give into him. I can’t do that this time. As I step into the living room, memories of the last few weeks in this house flood my mind and a few more tears slip down my cheeks. The morning we went over to his parents’ house pops into my mind and I remember his promise to always follow me anytime I run and as I turn back to face him, I know I have to do the same.

I won’t give in.

I won’t just forgive.

But I will fight for my man and I will fight for our love.

Wyatt runs his hand through his hair and peeks up at me, his nerves painted across his handsome face. “I don’t know what to say…”

“Why don’t you start with whether or not you’re still planning on signing the divorce papers today?” My heart skips a beat as I wait for his answer and I cross my arms over my chest, struggling to take a full breath as he looks up at me. Until last night, I didn’t even know he still had those and it kills me to think that he kept them as an insurance policy. He wanted an out from the very beginning. After what feels like an eternity, he turns and walks down the hallway to the bedroom as my heart sinks. When he comes back, he has the papers in his hand and my lip wobbles as my world crashes down around me. Stopping right in front of me, he holds his hand out to me. “Come with me.”

Maybe I’m a masochist or on some level, I assume that I deserve to watch him sign our lives away but I slip my hand into his, savoring the feeling because I know this will be the last time, and let him lead me into the kitchen. We stop in front of the sink and I scowl as he digs a lighter out of his pocket and holds the flame to the corner of the papers.

“Oh,” I whisper, a sob overwhelming me as I grip the counter and watch him drop the burning papers into the sink before he turns to me and cups my face between his hands.

“Blaze had Streak investigate all the things that have been happening - the flowers, the reservations, and the guy that showed up yesterday - and he found an online dating profile for you run by someone else.”

Who in the hell would run a fake dating profile on me and for what reason?

“Blaze and Streak both think it is the same guy who is targeting the club…”

A bolt of fear slices through me.

“I was the one leading the charge on these cases but I haven’t been doing as much lately because I’ve been so distracted with everything going on between us. I…” He pulls his hand away from my face and runs one through his hair. “I was tracking you and following you to make sure you didn’t leave me or cheat on me and each time something new happened, it just made me feel crazier.”

“Wyatt,” I breathe, closing my eyes and rubbing my fingers into my forehead. I don’t even know how to process all of this and I know we’ll have to talk about this in more depth later but right now, I don’t want to interrupt him.

“I know, baby…” His voice cracks and he shakes his head. “I don’t know why I was so quick to believe the worst of you because when I look at you now… It’s so crazy to me that I ever believed you could do that to me. I mean, I know you… I’ve known you since we were ten years old and I know you would never do that to me. It’s just… I was going crazy… Fuck, Pip. I’m so fucking sorry that I’ve been such an ass lately. Clearly, I have some issues from our past but I promise you that I’m going to work on that.”

I nod, searching his eyes and for the first time in a long time, I can see the boy I fell in love with staring back at me. “How?”

“How what?”