Page 56 of Tough Love
“What the hell made you shack up with her that night, of all the girls you could have picked in our town?”Including me.
“About 1.2 litres of bourbon.”
I slap a hand to my face, leaning my elbow on the table. “Evan….”
“I was angry that you’d moved on, she was tidy to look at. I had frustrations I needed to get rid of.” He sighs. “I’ve said sorry, Mimi, and I mean it. She was the stupidest decision I ever made—even more than leaving you without saying goodbye.”
“You can’t honestly tell me you got her pregnant in one go.”
He smirks, nudging my leg under the table with his foot. “You really want to discuss this?”
“Not particularly, but it’s like a train wreck you can’t look away from.”
He chuckles. “I’m putting up the blinders. No more torture for you, missy.” His eyes shoot wide as he realises his use of my teenage tormentor’s nickname for me. “I didn’t mean it like that.” Birdie’sbrother’sname for me.
“It’s okay.” I shake my head, picking at my food. “Slip of the tongue.”
We eat in silence for the remainder of the meal. I concentrate on my food, not daring to look up at him although I can feel his eyes on me, checking me out, worried, regretful.
It’s just a name. It shouldn’t bother me so much, but I guess it’s the association our shared history brings up. If it were someone else like Jess saying it, I probably wouldn’t have blanched. But somebody I dated, somebody I shared such intimacy with, somebody who knows what it means?
It hurts, even if it was a mistake.
I clear our plates, carrying them through to the kitchen while Evan sits silently at the table. I feel bad for the wedge something so trivial has put between us, but like waking from a bad dream, I can’t shake the mood that quickly. Especially after everything else he’s dropped on me in the past hour.
Warm, firm hands rest on my waist as I stand at the sink, rinsing the dishes off.
“I’m sorry.” His words tickle my ear, his face close to my neck as he wraps me in his warmth.
“No.” I wipe my hands off on the front of my sweatshirt and spin in his hold. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t let something so childish affect me so much.”
“Why did they do it?” he asks, confusion clear in his eyes. “Why did they bully you like that?”
I shrug. Why did they? I never did anything to them to start it. “They just saw a lonely girl, picked on her one day, and must have liked the reaction they got, because it became a habit after that.”
“Intimidated,” he says with finality, echoing his thoughts from earlier. “Definitely just intimidated.”
“Just like you?” I smile.
“I was shaking in my boots,” he answers, leaning down to rest his forehead against mine. “Absolutely fucking terrified.”
“Good thing you got over that then, huh?”
His chest brushes against mine with every breath he takes. “Don’t let my suave exterior fool you,” he teases, reaching for my hand. “You still do it to me. Feel this.”
Evan settles my palm over his heart, and it thunders beneath my touch.
“Same.” I mimic his movement, placing his hand over mine.
“Nine years, Amelia.”
Has he really thought of me all that time? The evidence of his arousal pressed against my hip says yes. The quick shallow breaths he takes scream of course. And the way he gently ducks his head to capture my lips with his own admit the truth.
He still hungers for me, scars and all.
I’ve never wanted someone more in my life.
Our mouths fuse, our breaths short and shallow as he reaches behind me to clear a space on the counter, our kiss never wavering. Firm hands grip my arse, and I wrap my legs around him as he lifts me up and slides me onto the flat surface, making us the same height.