Page 91 of Wilde Abandon
He stared at the intricate work stamped into the leather band.“This is my car with a fox curled up on the roof.The road the car is on is actually a D.”He looked her dead in the eye.“Because I call you sweet Dee.”The D was on its side beneath the car.On each side of the D she’d stamped in a heart.Behind the car, she’d stamped in rows of dashes so it looked like the car was speeding down the road.And above the hood, a sun with blazing rays.“No clouds in the sky.Nothing but sun.”
“For a bright future,” she whispered.
His throat clogged.
She’d made this for him, then tossed it in the trash because he’d been an asshole of epic proportions.He hated that she’d toss it instead of giving it to him after all the time, effort, and meaning she’d put into it.
Nothing less than he deserved.And his mistake to fix.
“This is amazing work and detail.”The clasp holding it together was a miniature D bit.
“Keep it.I have to go.”She tried to walk past him.
It couldn’t end this way.He hooked his hand at her waist and stopped her.“We’re not done talking.”
“I’ve said all I have to say.”
“Then it’s my turn.”
She raised one brow, anger rolling off her, but she didn’t push his hand away.“Don’t you think you’ve said enough?”
He’d said a bunch of stupid shit.Now he needed to make things right.“You deserve the truth and an apology.”He waited for her to look at him, then he shifted so he was right in front of her with both hands on her hips.He bent his head, touched his forehead to hers, and looked her right in the eye.“I love you.”He squeezed her hips.“It’s like this living, breathing thing inside me.It’s all I think about.That and wanting you.Nothing will ever change that.And the fact is, you’re not just enough for me, you’re amazing and out of my league and way more than I deserve.”
She put her hands on his forearms and squeezed.“Fox, that’s not true.”
He knew it was.“I’m selfish.I want you all to myself.And thinking of you with someone else sends me into a tailspin.It wasn’t what Amy said, so much as the thought that maybe you were keeping your options open about Boston or staying here.”
She shook her head, her tempting lips scrunching into a pout.“I thought I made my choice clear in as many ways as I could.I even agreed to leave Wyoming, my family, my bar to move to Boston with you.”
“I still kind of can’t believe you agreed to do that to be with me.”
“No, you thought maybe I wanted to stay in town with a guy like Josh.”The disgusted and disgruntled face she made showed how unlikely that was to happen.
He cupped her face.“I’m sorry.I took this amazing thing we’ve had for months and screwed it all up in ten minutes.A little self-sabotage to go with my other issues.Please, forgive me.All I want to do is put this back together, so we can go back to being happy.And to do that you have to know that, yes, I sometimes feel like I can’t trust anyone.Even the people closest to me.Even when they give me no reason to doubt them.And I never doubted you.In fact, I told Amy you’d never hurt me.”
Uncertainty clouded her eyes.“Do you seriously think your money has anything to do with why I’m with you?”
“No.But I do get that bringing you into my life means you’ll see that what I have is glaringly more than what you do.But it also means that what’s mine is yours.”
“That works both ways.”
“Except I have a hell of a lot more.You have no idea the scope of what I’m talking about because you haven’t seen it.That’s why I want to take you to Boston.I thought there you’d see what my life is really like now.”
She released him to hold her hands up.“How does that change anything between us?”
“It doesn’t.”
Her hands went back to his arms, easing him in a way only she could do.
Because he wasn’t finished and worried this next part could get him into trouble again.“Except that living in Boston will be a huge change for you.But I can try to make it easier on you because I have the means to give you anything you want.”
“Look at how I live here.I don’t need much.What I want is to be a part of your life and have my own life, too.”
“Okay.Then, there’s something you need to know.Something I haven’t told you.A secret I need you to keep.”
“Are you sure you want to tell me?Five minutes ago, I told you to get out.”
He hesitated.“Did you actually want me to leave?”