Love Me by Quinn Ward

Author:Quinn Ward
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2020-04-11T04:00:00+00:00

12

Brook

The honeymoon phase always ends, but knowing that doesn’t make it any easier when it happens. I’m scared. I don’t know what’s going to happen now… -V

Even though I expected it, seeing our room empty this morning crippled me. I curled up in the unmade bed, burying my face in Dane’s pillow, and tried to convince myself he’d be back, that there was enough chemistry between us that he wouldn’t have left without at least saying goodbye. And not that stilted bullshit outside Bomber’s. In my mind, if Dane was leaving me, he’d kiss me passionately, holding on to me until the last possible second, whispering lies about how he wished it didn’t have to be this way. I’d beg him to stay, and he’d point out all the reasons that wasn’t possible.

My cell phone chimed in the other room, but I ignored it. James could man the desk himself for today’s checkouts because I wasn’t in any mood to deal with people. My chest physically ached every time I thought about Dane, which happened about every two seconds. There was no part of this inn that didn’t contain a memory of him. Hell, the entire town was tainted at this point.

I bolted upright when the door to the suite slammed open. So help me, if James thought he could barge in here and demand I get my ass to work when I rarely took a full day off, he could—

“Brook?”

I clenched my eyes tight at the pained inflection of my name crossing Dane’s lips. When I opened them, he stood at the door to the bedroom, duffel bag in hand, as though he couldn’t cross the threshold without permission.

“I… I thought you’d left.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I thought about it, but I couldn’t do it,” he admitted. “The old me probably would have run away rather than facing everything that was thrown at me yesterday, but I don’t want to be that man anymore. It gets old, trying to figure out all the ways people can hurt me and dodging the blows before they come. But I didn’t know how to fight this.”

“Do you now?” I slid out of the bed, smoothing my work uniform.

Dane dropped the bag to the floor and held out his arms as I crossed the room. He held me close, whispering apologies into my hair. I wanted to tell him it was okay and that I understood, but it wasn’t, and I didn’t. Not really. I knew about his past but couldn’t imagine a life spent trying to stay one step ahead of the pain.

“I’m starting to, but I’m afraid it won’t work,” he told me. I led him into the kitchenette and started a pot of coffee, ignoring the memories of the mornings that coffee led to sex and me rushing to get downstairs. The days when we’d been unable to keep our hands to ourselves felt distant, and I wanted that to be our normal.

“Do you want to talk it through?” I asked as I poured each of us a mug of coffee and led Dane out to the balcony.

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