Page 99 of Devoured By You
I raised my eyebrows, my hand moving to my stomach as the baby kicked. “Yes.”
“Even after what I said, what I did?”
“Yes.” I sighed again, picking up my water to lubricate my dry throat. “Feelings aren’t negated just because the person we love doesn’t feel the same way.”
“What if they do feel the same way, but they’re a stubborn, stupid fool who took too long to realize their mistake? And even when they acknowledged their idiocy, they didn’t want to come to you and beg for forgiveness until they’d worked through the physical and emotional trauma with the best professionals in the business and were whole again.”
My heart fluttered, missing a beat. The baby kicked once more. I wondered if he or she was listening to this entire conversation and prodding me to respond favorably.
I gave him my eyes. “And do they feel the same way?”
His face crumpled, and he reached across the table for my hand. I gave it willingly, the feel of his skin after such a long absence making my insides sing.
“They do.” He brought my hand to his lips, kissing my palm. “I’ve missed you so fucking much. You saved my life, and I pushed you away. I broke things off because I worried your career would flush down the toilet after those vile trolls went after you, and then when you approached me, I acted with unnecessary cruelty.”
“That’s why you broke up with me? Because of the online abuse?” I had not seen that coming. Jesus, the guy should be onstage or in the movies, with acting abilities as good as that.
“Yes. I’d destroyed my business. I couldn’t sit idly by and ruin yours, too. But even after I had the one-star reviews removed, and those TikToks silenced, I still couldn’t pluck up the courage to call you. I persisted in the belief that until I’d fixed the PR disaster and waited for memories to fade, I couldn’t risk associating myself with you. Then the book arrived, and I… overreacted. Dad and my therapist both helped me see things differently.”
So he saw a therapist after all. “You had the reviews removed? My publisher tried but got nowhere.”
He gave me a crooked smile. “It pays to be me sometimes.”
“Wow.” I blew out a breath. “That’s some influence.”
“I guess.” He shrugged. “The journalist got his hands on a few company emails. That’s how he discovered all the problems we’d had before sailing, and he twisted them to his own advantage.”
“How?”
“We’re still investigating. He won’t name his sources. A disgruntled employee, maybe? It’d have to be someone on the executive committee to have access to that kind of information, or an assistant who works for an executive member. But forget that. It’s not important.”
He sandwiched my hand between his. “Forgive me. I’m sorry for pushing you away. I’m sorry for what I said to you when you sent me a copy of your novel. I’m sorry for so many fucking things. I shouldn’t have waited this long to come to you, but I’ve been mired in my recovery. I needed to come to you when I’d fixed my messed up head and could stand on my own two feet. Call it a man thing, or a pride thing, but I had to make myself worthy of you. If you’ll take me back, I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. To you, and our baby. Through my own stubbornness, I’ve missed so much. I don’t want to miss another second.”
Tears ran down my face. Stupid pregnancy hormones. I cried at anything these days. Only yesterday, I’d cried at a news item about a woman who’d lost her keys at the supermarket checkout, only for a kind Samaritan to track her down and return them. Must’ve been a slow news day.
He let go of my hand and dried my tears with his thumbs. “Say something. Please.”
I stared into his eyes, the burn of love flowing through me like hot lava. “I love you.”
“Jill,” he breathed, getting to his feet. He came around to my side of the table and helped me stand. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he pulled me as close as my bump allowed. “Tell me, do the British still arrest people for public displays of affection?”
I curved both hands around his face, drawing his lips to mine. “It’ll be worth it.”
Chapter 35
Blaize
It’s now or never.
Ten months later…
Serenity rose from the glistening Atlantic Ocean, majestic in her splendor two hundred and fifty feet above the waterline. It had taken a while to put the past behind me, but that wasn’t the only reason I hadn’t set foot on a cruise ship since that fateful day eighteen months ago. Life had taken a fascinating turn, and whereas my work had once consumed me to the exclusion of all else, these days, I had a new obsession.
Two of them, actually.
“Lukas, careful.” Jill snatched the melting ice cream from our son’s sticky fingers but not before several drips dotted my black T-shirt.
I hitched him farther up my hip, grinning at his expression of outrage. “Buddy, you’ve got more on your face and your hands than you have in your mouth.”