Page 56 of Could Be Worse
“Sadie!” his girls screamed and wrapped their little arms around my legs.
“Sadie, where have you been?” Cat asked. She was wearing a gold puffer coat and a brown Carhartt beanie. Tori was dressed the exact same, except her coat was a burnt orange. My gosh they were so stinkin’ cute. I had missed them terribly.
“Why’d you stop watching us?” Tori asked next.
Oh, my heart. “I… Um…” I couldn’t take my eyes off Bryce, whose arm had snaked around my waist.
“Well, answer them, Sunshine. We’ve all missed you.”
“Way to throw me under the bus. It’s your fault I haven’t been around.”
He pulled me in closer and pressed his lips against my forehead. “I know. I was an idiot.”
“I won’t argue with that.”
“I thought you left days ago.” He continued to kiss my forehead. “I honestly thought I’d lost you forever.”
“I’m leaving tomorrow.” I put my hand on his chest and pushed him back. “What are you doing? My mom is right—” She was gone. I scanned my surroundings. “Where’d she go?”
“She snuck off with the girls. We sort of planned to bump into each other.”
“When?” Sure enough, the girls were nowhere in sight. I hadn’t even noticed when they’d stopped hugging me, wholly mesmerized by Bryce.
“I saw her at the kettle corn stand, after your dad told me she would be there.” He cradled my face in his warm hands. “I’m sorry for being a jackass. I’m sorry for not choosing you.”
I shook my head. “You always have to choose your girls first.”
“But I can choose all three of you, can’t I? I’ve made some dumb mistakes, thinking they were for the right reasons, but they were wrong. I care about you, Sadie. I want to see where we might end up together.”
“But I’m leaving tomorrow. My plane ticket is already bought. I cleared things up with my dance company.” If he’d told me he wanted to try sooner… “It’s too late, Bryce.”
“It’s never too late, Sunshine. We can try long distance. I’ll visit once a month. Maybe you can come here once a month. Just say you’ll give me another chance. I promise to make it worth your while.”
Tears blurred my vision. “But what about my family? They’re all bikers.”
“I’m not worried anymore. I should’ve thought about it before freaking out so easily.”
“Yeah, you should’ve.” I bit my bottom lip. I really wanted to give him a second chance.
“Come on, Sadie. Gimme another chance.” He pressed a kiss on my lips. “I promise you won’t regret it. We’ll be a real couple.” He kissed me again. “Start fresh.” And another kiss.
“I don’t think I can do a long-distance relationship.”
“I see.” He deflated before me but didn’t release me.
“So maybe I’ll put off returning to Manhattan, to see where this might go.”
“That sounds like a wise decision.” His arms snaked around my waist, and he reeled me into his embrace.
“I thought so. It’s a risk though.”
“Anything good is.”
“I might fall in love with you.”
“That would be amazing, since I’ve already fallen in love with you.”
A smile stretched across my face. “You have?”